Her life story was told in the 1941 film Blossoms in the Dust, in which she was portrayed by Greer Garson, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Gladney.

[6] In 1910, Edna joined the Sherman Civic League and started inspecting local meat markets and public restrooms for cleanliness.

[8] Appalled at the Poor Farm's conditions, especially for children, she enlisted the other Civic League members in a campaign for improvements beginning in 1917.

The Gladneys commissioned Edna's cousin, the renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, to design a home in Fort Worth's Forest Park neighborhood, but the plans never were realized.

[6] Gladney began to devote more and more of her time to the Texas Children's Home and Aid Society, and by 1927, she had been named superintendent,[9] a position she held until 1961.

The large home, located on El Paso Street, was owned by the head of Texas Power and Light; Edna's mother oversaw daily operations of the facility until her death in 1938.

"[9] In 1939, Ralph Wheelwright, an MGM publicist who had adopted a child from the Texas Children's Home, developed a story based on Gladney's work, which became the film Blossoms in the Dust.

The film's sets, noted for their accuracy, were based on detailed photographs shot on location in Sherman, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas.

[6] Ill health forced Gladney into semi-retirement in 1960, but she remained active as an adviser until her death on October 2, 1961, from complications of diabetes.

Gladney helped develop modern day adoption practices and removed the stigma of "illegitimacy" from birth records and from society.

The pedestal contains a bronze bas-relief panel with 66 leaves, each leaf represents 150 babies that were adopted during Edna's time of service at the Gladney Center.