Used with permission of the San Lorenzo Valley Museum, Copyrighted image, all rights reserved.

Emily Ann Cress
August 1, 1928 – January 17, 2015

Obituary

Boulder Creek and the Santa Cruz community have lost one of their finest. Emily Ann Cress passed away peacefully in Santa Cruz at the age of 86. She was born in Santa Cruz to Abraham Locatelli and Margherita Zanardi who were Italian immigrants. She was raised in Boulder Creek and remained a resident her entire life.

Emily graduated from Boulder Creek High School and attended Smith’s School of Business in Santa Cruz. She was a tireless worker and for over seventy-two years was the face that everyone knew at Johnnie’s Super Market. It is an amazing and remarkable truth that Emily worked almost every day at one place since the age of fourteen. Her dedication was unprecedented, and anybody who ever lived or worked in Boulder Creek probably knew of Emily.

Described by many as Boulder Creek’s unofficial historian, Emily remained actively involved in her community throughout her entire life. Over the years her club affiliations included the Lyons Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Fire Department, the Boulder Creek Golf Club, the Boulder Creek Museum, and the Italian Catholic Federation of Santa Cruz. Emily was also a member of the Marconi Club and enjoyed the club’s many bus trips to various places and the fellowship of friends. She never forgot Boulder Creek High School and every year joined with some of her classmates to celebrate their lifelong connections. She loved the company of family and friends and always remembered a face.

Beginning in 1888 there has been a handful of people responsible for collecting and reporting the annual rainfall data for Boulder Creek. Emily continued this work over fifteen years ago for her late husband George “Hoot” Cress. It has benefited the community of Boulder Creek for over a century.

Emily always enjoyed a good meal, especially at Scopazzi’s in Boulder Creek. She was a wonderful cook and always generous in her gifts of food. She was an avid sports fan and in her younger years enjoyed playing golf and swimming. She also enjoyed her yard which was always maintained meticulously.

Emily is survived by her brother Andrew J. Locatelli; sister-in-law Lois A. Locatelli; brother-in-law Charles F. Hughes; nephews James A. Hughes, David A. Hughes, Andrew J. Hughes, Mark J. Locatelli, and Tom R. Locatelli; niece Janet M. Hughes; and extended family and friends who will all miss her genuine and enthusiastic energy for life.

She was preceded in death by her parents Abraham Locatelli and Margherita Zanardi; her loving husband George Loughmiller “Hoot” Cress; and her sister Marie Locatelli Hughes.

Recitation of the Rosary and the Mass of the Resurrection for Emily Ann Cress will both be held in Boulder Creek. The rosary will be at St. Michael’s Catholic Church on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 7 p.m. Friends may pay their respects at a viewing to be held at the church on Sunday evening beginning at 5 p.m. The mass will be celebrated at St. Michael’s Catholic Church on Monday, January 26, 2015 beginning at 10 a.m. The committal will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Santa Cruz. A reception to celebrate Emily will follow at Scopazzi’s Italian Restaurant in Boulder Creek. It will start at 1:30 p.m., and all friends and family are welcome and encouraged to attend. Any kind acts of charity can be made in Emily’s memory to the Boulder Creek Historical Society.

Emily Ann Cress was one-of-a-kind. We were blessed to have her in our lives for 86 years. She will be missed by family and friends although her spirit will always be present and will remain a part of the Boulder Creek community forever.

http://pacificgardenschapel.com/tribute/details/1292/Emily_Ann_Cress/obituary.html