Iris Bedford, 81, war survivor, embraced life

Iris Bedford was separated from her siblings and parents in Germany during World War II.

At one point, Mrs. Bedford became extremely ill and wound up in a military hospital, said her daughter, Dorothea Bedford of Atlanta.

“They nursed her back to health,” her daughter said, “but it wasn’t a very good experience. She almost died. She tried to forget a lot of what happened during wartime. It gave her a perspective different than any of us would have. She embraced life a little bit more cautiously, but she loved the little things.”

Things like the coffee her daughter Michelle Shepard of Lawrenceville served up. And the oatmeal seasoned with cinnamon, soy milk and blueberries prepared by Dorothea Bedford practically every day. “We always laughed about the price of blueberries as the prices changed,” her daughter said.

Iris “Omi” Dorothea Bedford, 81, of Atlanta died Nov. 12 at her home after an extended illness. The memorial service is 12:30 Tuesday in the chapel of Cremation Society of the South in Marietta, which is handling arrangements.

Mrs. Bedford married the late Lt. Col. R.H. Bedford, her husband of 29 years, after the war. They came to Atlanta in 1954. Mrs. Bedford became a citizen and was an active voter right up to the 2008 presidential campaign. A registered Republican, she found President-elect Barack Obama appealing.

“She thought Obama was cute, and she liked McCain for being a veteran,” her daughter said. “Our votes canceled each other out.”

Other survivors include two sisters, Ruth Brown of Mesa, Ariz., and Brigitte Wiebel of Germany; three grandchildren; and a great-grandson.