Edene Vidinha was the youngest of three children and only girl born to Maurice Smith and Emma Wohlers Smith in 1905. After Maurice Smith died, Edene was raised by her mother and stepfather, John Naleimaile, Koloa Plantation policeman, who later became a Kaua'i county policeman in Koloa.  Edene and her family lived in a home adjoining the courthouse in Koloa, where her stepfather worked. She first attended Koloa School, then transferred to Kawaiahao Seminary in Honolulu.