| | Edith Iona Tillery 
AUBURNDALE -- Mrs. Edith Iona Tillery had a natural talent when it came to fixing hair. She went to school to become a cosmetologist and opened Curl Delight in Winter Haven.
"All the time when we were kids, she always fixed our hair. She did all our perms and cuts," said her daughter, Shirley Christner of Bartow. "Everybody would come to her and say, `Hey, will you fix my hair?' Everybody kept saying you ought to go to school and become a cosmetologist."
Mrs. Tillery died Wednesday (May 3, 2006) in Auburndale of complications from lung disease. She was 75.
She was born in Cullman, Ala., on Dec. 18, 1930, and worked at a chicken plant in Alabama for a number of years before moving to Polk County in 1971. She worked for Bordo before attending Ridge Vo-Tech.
After she became a cosmetologist, she opened Curl Delight in 1982.
"She had a lot of loyal customers and a lot of elderly people and a lot of snowbird customers," Christner said.
Mrs. Tillery operated the business until 1996 when she sold the salon and retired.
Mrs. Tillery was petite, and her nickname, given to her by her father, was "Bitty" for her small stature.
"She was a workaholic. I've never seen anybody that could go from daylight to dark, seven days a week. She loved working in her yard. She was like the Energizer Bunny. She kept an immaculate house and was a great cook. We were all taught that, too," Christner said.
"My sister, Diane, works at Auburndale Oaks where my mom was and we want a special thank you to her for taking care of my mom."
She was a member of Wahneta Baptist Church in Winter Haven.
Mrs. Tillery was preceded in death by her husband, Walter "Smitty" Tillery. In addition to her daughter, Shirley Christner, she is survived by her daughters, Diane Zaragoza, Bartow, and Joni Pollard, Cullman, Ala.; son, Charles Lynn, Bremen, Ala.; brothers, Ray Stewart, Maryland, and Arvel Stewart, Avon Park; 12 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, 2425 W. Havendale Blvd., Winter Haven. Services will follow at 5 p.m. at the funeral home chapel.
By Rhonda Gentle
The Ledger
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