Dr. A. Edwina Thedford of Arkadelphia, Arkansas passed away suddenly on Thursday, September 1, 2016 after a brief illness. She was born on December 12, 1938 in Many. She attended Northwestern University in Natchitoches where she earned a Bachelor in Music Education. She also earned a Master of Church Music from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth Texas, a Master of Music from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota and Phi Kappa Lambda, music fraternities, and a member of the American Choral Directors Association. Edwina had a long career as a professor of music at several colleges, where she has maintained friendships with many of her colleagues. She retired from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. While at OBU, she also taught at the College of Foreign Languages, Peking University in Beijing, China in 2001. During her 20 years in Arkadelphia she made many friends of whom she often spoke fondly to her family. There will be a memorial service in Arkadelphia to be scheduled at a later date. She is preceded in death by her parents, D.D. “Ted” and Maude Slay Thedford; maternal grandparents, Dutch and Martha Netles Slay of Sabine Parish and H.E. and Dana Thedford of Smith County, Texas. She is survived by her sister, Anita Thedford of Many; nephew, Chuck Poché of Dallas, Texas and a host of cousins and friends.
July 15, 2026
