Meet The Woman Who Provided The Inspiration For Touching Film ‘Up’

Released in 2009, Up is a film that has touched the hearts of many. It tells the story of 78-year-old Carl who sets out on an expedition to South America, fulfilling a promise to his beloved wife Ellie. While many of us are familiar with the movie, not everyone realises that the house in the movie was modelled on a real home. Edith Macefield had a stubborn streak of defiance which resulted in her refusing to sell her house to a development complex. Edith's house stands proud among the shopping center buildings Her house, standing among giant shopping center buildings, was the inspiration for the house in Up. Barry Martin, a construction supervisor working on the complex surrounding her house, befriended Edith. He would often check on her and once asked why she was so against moving house. Edith had a honest and touching response to the question: "Where would I go? I don’t have any family and this is my home. My mother died here, on this couch. I came back to America from England to take care of her." Edith as a young girl "She made me promise I would let her die at home and not in some facility, and I kept that promise. And this is where I want to die. Right in my own home. On this couch.” After a while Barry noticed that Edith had lost a lot of weight and when she finally agreed to a visit to the hospital, tests revealed that she had pancreatic cancer. To read more about Edith and her close confidante Barry, the book Under One Roof tells their story. Images via Polaris