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Edna Paralee Thompson was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She spent her early childhood on her great grandfather’s farm in Oakridge, Tennessee. Edna’s family migrated to Worcester, Massachusetts during the late 1930s and early ’40s. She married Cornelius Boyed Spencer and they had one daughter, Olivia Rochelle Spencer, who died on August 4, 2006. Edna earned degrees from Quinsigamond Community College and Clark University, both in Worcester, and she holds a master’s degree in Liberal Arts from Clark University. Edna is the first black woman to serve as chairman of the trustee board of Quinsigamond Community College, and the first black woman to serve as president of the YWCA of Central Massachusetts. She has served on the Trustee Board of the United Way and several other city and agency committees. She is the recipient of The National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Good Citizen Award, The YWCA of Central Massachusetts Katherine F. Erskine Award, and The Clark University Outstanding Alumni Award. Edna was also given a key to the City of Worcester, where she and Cornelius currently reside.