Edna True

Edna M. True
Born	July 29, 1888 Grand Rapids, Michigan
Died	December 9, 1988 Wilmette, Illinois
NSA member	US & Canada 1946 - 1948 USA 1948 - 1968
Counsellor	North America 1968 - 1980
Parent(s)	Moses Adams True, Corinne True
Works •  Media

Edna Miriam True (July 29, 1888 - December 9, 1988) was an American Bahá'í who served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada then as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, after each country elected separate assemblies. She served on the European Teaching Committee from its establishment in 1946 until its disbandment in 1964, and the Continental Board for North America from its establishment in 1968 until it was merged into the Board for the Americas in 1980.

Biography

Edna was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1888. Her family moved to Chicago in 1891, and her mother, Corinne True, began investigating the Bahá'í Faith there in 1899, and Edna formally enrolled in the Faith herself in 1903. Edna studied at Smith College where she excelled at many sports, captaining the basketball team, and she graduated in 1909. Her father passed the same year. She then went to Rome with her sister Katherine and engaged in postgraduate work until returning to the United States.

Members of the Smith College Relief Unit, 1918; second from left, Edna True; center, Hannah Andrews; right, Dr. Agnes Hopkins. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

In 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited the United States, and he visited the True home in Chicago. Edna saw him speak frequently in Chicago and New York during his time in those cities. During WWI Edna served in the Smith College Relief Unit in France, resettling people displaced by the war, and assisting in transporting wounded to hospitals. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá praised her service in the Unit. In 1919 she went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. In 1921 she returned to France to do reconstruction work with the American Committee for Devastated France. In the 1920s Edna established the North Shore Travel Service, a travel agency, in Evanston, Illinois. In 1925 she spent some time in the Holy Land. In 1929 she was appointed as Countersigning Officer of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada.

She was appointed as the chair of the National Convention Hospitality Committee in 1932, and she continued to serve on the Committee throughout the 1930's. In early 1935 she visited Haifa again, returning to America in time for the National Convention. She conveyed a message from Shoghi Effendi impressing upon the Bahá'ís the importance of teaching the Faith. As of 1935 she was serving on a Committee responsible for editing Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for publication, which was chaired by her mother. In 1936 Edna assisted in having the Encyclopedia Britannica article on the Babi Faith updated. In 1937 Edna visited Valparaiso in South America, and she assisted Nellie French who was there on a teaching trip by introducing her to a prominent local family. She was appointed to the Temple Program Committee in 1937. In 1939 she was appointed to the Bahá'í News Service Committee and Temple Guides Committee. In 1940 she was appointed to the Inter-America Committee, and she became Chair in 1941. In 1943 Edna taught at Louhelen Summer School. She was appointed as Chair of the Bahá'í Centennial Committee, responsible for organizing the 1944 Bahá'í Centenary, in 1943. Throughout the early 1940's Edna continued to teach the Faith in Latin America.

Edna (centre) with pioneers Rita von Sombeek & Jetty Straub, 1946.

In 1946 Edna was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, and was also appointed to the newly established European Teaching Committee. She sailed to Holland in September 1946, accompanying two pioneers for Holland. She surveyed several countries across Europe, opened a branch office in Geneva, and consulted with the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, and National Assembly of Germany on printing Bahá'í literature before returning to America in November 1946. In 1947 she was appointed to a Temple Construction Committee responsible for studying architectural and financial elements and placing contracts for work on the House of Worship. In May 1948 Edna returned to Europe to attend a European Teaching Conference in Geneva. In 1948 she was elected to the inaugural National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, established at the same time as an independent Assembly for Canada. In 1949 she was chosen as Assistant Treasurer of the Assembly, assisting the Treasurer Leroy Ioas. In August 1949 she attended the Second European Teaching Conference in Brussels.

In 1950 Edna visited Denmark with her mother, Corinne, and her sister, Katherine, assisting in teaching work and attending the third European Teaching Conference. She also spoke at the first European Summer School held in Copenhagen following the third Teaching Conference. In 1951 Edna was part of a delegation of the US National Spiritual Assembly that met with Prime Minister Ben-Gurion of Israel in Chicago. She also attended a Bahá'í Convention in Lima with Paul Haney in 1951. Later in 1951 she spoke at the Fourth European Teaching Conference and second Summer School held in Scheveningen, near the Hague. A book based on a course she taught at the Summer School titled Building the Bahá'í Community was published in December 1951. In May 1952 Edna met with the Mayor of Haifa with Horace Holley. In 1953 Edna represented the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland at the first Italo-Swiss Convention in Florence, Italy.

In July 1953 Edna chaired the Inter-Continental Bahá'í Conference held in Stockholm, Sweden, the third of a series of Conferences held to open the Ten Year Crusade. She was also appointed to the Editorial Committee of Bahá'í News in 1953. In 1955 she attended the Northern Countries Bahá'í Conference and Summer School in Helsinki, Finland. In April 1957 she represented the US National Spiritual Assembly at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Scandinavia and Finland. In 1958 she attended the Convention at which the National Spiritual Assembly of France was formed.

In 1964 Edna represented the US National Assembly at the Dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1966 she spoke at a Summer School held in Denmark. She also visited Switzerland to teach the Faith. In December 1967 Edna represented the National Assembly at an Auxiliary Board Team Conference held at the House of Worship in Illinois. Edna True was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States for the last time in 1968, as she was appointed as an inaugural Continental Counsellor for North America by the Universal House of Justice in June 1968 for an indefinite term, also being appointed as Trustee of the Continental Fund. She resigned from the National Assembly in order to serve as Counsellor in July 1968. In December 1968 she taught at the Southwestern Bahá'í School in Bridgeport, Texas. In 1969 Edna chaired a Conference held in Phoenix, one of nine held by the Continental Board of North America. In June 1969 she spoke at the Boards Deepening Conference in Halifax, Canada.

Edna True in Later Years

In 1970 Edna taught at the North Central States Bahá'í Summer School near Lake Pepin in Minnesota. In 1971 she attended the North Atlantic Oceanic Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. In November 1971 she spoke at a Continental Board Deepening Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. In March 1972 she spoke at a Continental Board Deepening Conference held in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In late 1972 she spoke at the dedication of the Louis G. Gregory Bahá'í Institute in Hemingway, South Carolina. In August 1974 Edna attended a National Bahá'í Conference held in St. Louis which was attended by over 10,000 Bahá'ís. In 1975 she attended an observation of the 50th Anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly. In 1976 she spoke at a New York Conference called by the Continental Board, and in December 1976 she spoke at a Conference in Wilmette held to discuss the role of the Persian Bahá'ís in the United States Five Year Plan, delivering a talk which was translated into Persian. In May 1978 Edna, with the president of the Village of Wilmette, unveiled a plate acknowledging the placement of the House of Worship in Wilmette on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Edna's completed her service as Counsellor in 1980, when the Universal House of Justice merged the Continental Boards of North, South, and Central America. She remained active in the Wilmette Bahá'í community, and in 1986 she went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the age of ninety-nine. In 1987 she was presented a scroll honoring her service to the Faith by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. She passed away at a little over 100 years of age in 1988. Ruhiyyih Khanum issued the following statement following her passing:

DEEPLY SHARE SENSE LOSS WITH NORTH AMERICAN BAHA’I COMMUNITY PASSING EDNA TRUE LAST VALIANT MEMBER OLDER GENERATION TRUE FAMILY, WHOSE DEVOTION AND SERVICES TO 'ABDU'L-BAHA CENTER COVENANT AND LATER HIS SUCCESSOR SHOGHI EFFENDI THE GUARDIAN MARK THEM AS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED BAHA’I FAMILIES OF THE WEST DURING FORMATIVE AGE FAITH. ARDENTLY HOPE YOUNGER GENERATION BELIEVERS WILL PAY BEFITTING TRIBUTE MEMORY THIS OUTSTANDING, EXEMPLARY SERVANT AND ARISE AS NEVER BEFORE TO SPREAD THE CAUSE OF GOD AMONG THE MASSES OF EVERY COLOR, RACE AND BACKGROUND IN THE UNITED STATES AS A WORTHY REMEMBRANCE THIS WONDERFUL SOUL.

References

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Edna True

• Obituary from Bahá'í World, Vol. 20, pp 925-929