Former Lakeland commissioner, husband memorialized in lakeside ceremony

LAKELAND, Fla. - Former Lakeland city commissioner Edie Yates and her husband, David Henderson, were remembered during an informal ceremony along the Lake Mirror Promenade Monday night.

Their family held a small, socially distanced funeral shortly after the couple was killed last month. The Lake Mirror event was a chance for those who didn’t attend to remember the high-profile couple and give their condolences.

Yates and Henderson were killed in their own home during a suspected burglary. Marcelle Waldron, a career criminal, has been charged with their murders.

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Yates, in particular, will be remembered for being community-minded.

She joined Campfire when she was seven years old. Her commitment never waned. As an adult, she continued supporting the organization, holding positions of board president and treasurer. 

Those who knew her said she always had a place in her heart for the group.

“She just always remembered us,” Campfire Sunshine of Central Florida executive director Lynn Anne Castleberry told FOX 13.

Yates was also instrumental in Emerge, a group that mentors young professionals.

“Many of them assumed leadership responsibilities and they are probably still working in the community now because they want to make a difference where they live,” said Kay Fields, the executive director of Girls Inc. Lakeland.

Yates and Henderson, along with other investors, also bought the historic Terrace Hotel in downtown Lakeland, with plans to refurbish it.

Later this week, Yates and Henderson’s neighbors will be Christmas caroling a few houses away from where the couple lived on Lake Morton.

Any donations collected Friday night will be sent to Camp Wingman in Avon Park. Yates attended the camp as a child and helped raise money to keep its doors open in recent years.