Edna Anna Dam | August 10, 1938 – May 25, 2026

Edna was born to Walter and Olga Jensen. She grew up at a dairy farm at Langley BC Canada, just two miles North of the US border. Olga was an elementary school teacher and taught Edna to read at a young age. Having skipped two grades, Edna graduated from high school at age 15 and found employment as a stenographer at that age.

After two years of office work, she and a coworker, Marlene Stevenson, decided to see the world. First, they went to Eastern Canada and found steno work there. Then it was off to London, again doing Steno work. Next was Geneva, working for a UN agency, where they saved enough money to buy a motor scooter, which took them through France and Spain, then to Morocco, followed by Italy, Greece and Yugoslavia and back to Geneva for more work and saving money. Finally, Edna went to Denmark and Norway alone to look up relatives and was back home to British Columbia for Christmas 1959.

In 1960, she completed Grade 13 at Langley High School which is like first year of college. In the fall of 1960, she was a second-year student at UBC, again sharing an apartment with Marlene. She was home for the weekend when a dark stranger entered her life. An American, James Dam was at their farm for a first-time meeting with his cousin who was a live-in farm employee. One thing led to another, and soon Jim was going to Canada to visit Edna. He was very impressed by her tales of travel. They set a date of August 25,1961, for a wedding day.

Fall 1961, Edna was a student at UW and had a green card but still had a Canadian passport. Travel was still in her blood. Edna became a citizen in time to vote in 1968. Jim and Edna visited Europe in ‘64, ’65, ‘73, ’77 and more. The ‘73 trip was to the Soviet Union with Marlene and her husband. One time Edna visited Marlene in England while she was there with her husband on an extended business project, leaving Jim behind to tend the garden. Edna had a variety of jobs as a tech writer. The longest one was at Teltone, a manufacturer of telephone equipment.

They had a large garden in Seattle and after retirement they moved to Vashon and had a huge garden on their acreage. They had yet another trip with Marlene to Alaska and the Yukon. Edna and Marlene were best friends for decades.

Edna was a longtime supporter of Vashon Maury Land Trust, a past president of the Vashon Garden Club, a member of the Vashon Chorale for several years, and a longtime member of the Vashon Friends Worship Group (Quakers).

In later years she was mostly housebound and resumed playing the piano. On May 16 Edna got an Email that Marlene had died on May 14. Edna dutifully composed Condolence messages for husband Bob and each of Marlene’s kids. Then on the 24th of May, Edna had a massive stroke and died on May 25, Memorial Day. Where are Marlene and Edna off to this time?

Edna is survived by husband James, brother Dale Jensen and sister Lorna Edgecombe.

Services are planned for June 6 as follows:

Graveside Green burial: 12pm

Worship at Vashon Lutheran Church: 1pm

Refreshments and fellowship: 2pm

There will be a Celebration of life party at Edna’s residence on July 12 at 1pm.