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‘The Waltons’ Actress Ronnie Claire Edwards Dies At 83, Corabeth Godsey Will Always Be Remembered

By Kim Brandow
Published on: 02:58 PST, Jun 16, 2016

Another beloved member of an iconic TV show has just passed away. The Waltons actress Ronnie Claire Edwards has died at the age of 83. She played the role of Corabeth Walton Godsey on the classic CBS series.

According to her Facebook page, the longtime actress died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday. She had currently resided in Dallas until her death. She had a long history of a full acting career, but she was best known as the snarky wife of Walton’s Mountain storekeeper, Ike Godsey.

Edwards grabbed the role of the uptight Corabeth in Season 3 of The Waltons. She eventually married Mr. Godsey and even though they were quite an unlikely couple, they eventually became a lovable pair, especially after they adopted a daughter. Becoming a mother seemed to give her a brand new perspective on life and brought the twosome closer than ever. Of course, they still had their disagreements, but that made them even more loved.

The Waltons ran from 1972 to 1981, and with the last show came tears of sadness for many. This family brought out memories of living during the Depression and having a hard, but simple life that many older folks could relate to. For the younger generation that watched during their nine seasons, it was a time of being able to share in the family’s love, heartbreak, and joy.

There were also two more specials that came back a few years after the show went off air in which Ronnie Claire Edwards was a part of. A Walton Wedding was aired in 1995 and A Walton Easter in 1997. Her professional career also included All the Way Home, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and a few spots in some primetime dramas such as Falcon Crest and Dallas.

The Waltons actress had quite an interesting life. She dished some tidbits in a 2009 interview with D Magazine and one of them was that she was living in a church in Dallas. She took the 1911 St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and made it into a livable place just for her without making too many changes.

Edward’s character of Corabeth was a woman who people loved to hate and the actress was quite proud of that. She loved Corabeth.

“I’m recognized in hog barns and at state fairs around the country. The Waltons was very well written for television. We had good scripts, and I had the best part. Earl Hamner, who created the series, fell in love with the character, so they just wrote and wrote and wrote for her. She was an automatic conflict.”

Ronnie Claire was also an author having written a couple of memoirs including one called Mr. Godsey Asked Me to Marry Him and I Said: “Yes!”: (Exit Sobbing) in 2012. The title clarifies the dramatics of playing her character.

Several of Ronnie Claire’s co-stars on The Waltons preceded her in death. Will Geer, the always spunky Grandpa Walton, passed away in 1978 while the series was still airing, while Ellen Corby, who played Grandma Walton, died in 1999. Her TV husband, Joe Conley, died in 2013. The beloved patriarch of the Walton family, actor Ralph Waite, died unexpectedly a year later in 2014. The show’s creator, Earl Hamner Jr., passed away most recently this past March. Ronnie Claire Edwards wrote this on her Facebook about the man who brought the pages of his life to the small screen as John Boy Walton.

The Waltons lost an incredible actress.
[Photo courtesy of The Associated Press]

“A heartbreaking loss of a magnificent man and a best friend. We all grieve together.”

Now, Ronnie Claire Edwards joins them in being forever remembered and loved. Fans got to know her through a character that was only supposed to be on screen for a short time. However, because she played up Corabeth so well, The Waltons actress stayed on until the beloved series ended and she will always be a part of classic TV history.

[Photo by The Waltons/Facebook]

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