Lenore Margaret Emerson, 89, died Dec. 16, 2009 at her home in Mariposa after a relatively brief illness.

A resident of Mariposa since 1974, Mrs. Emerson was born Feb. 14, 1920, in Detroit, Mich. to Mona and Williams Mc- Carthy, the older of two children. The family moved to California in the late 1930s, and she attended St. Mary’s Academy in Santa Monica and Santa Monica City College, majoring in business. She was employed by Douglas Aircraft as executive secretary to the president, and as a young woman had an impressive repetoire as an actress with Santa Monica Little Theater.

A rosary was held Dec. 18. Memorial mass took place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Dec. 19. The family has requested donations to the Mariposa County Senior Services Program in lieu of flowers.

In 1937, she met Joseph Emerson, and they were married in Akron, Ohio in 1942. He was a chemical engineer for an international company, and together they traveled the world on his job assignments with their family. He was inducted into the Navy in 1945 and spent two year in the Pacific Theater during World War II, returning to Lenore in Santa Monica in 1946 and working at several posi- tions (including cotton farming in Australia) prior to resuming his engineering career. While her husband was in the Navy, Mrs. Emerson was very active in the Red Cross.

Upon his retirement in 1974, they moved to Mariposa and soon became active in the community, as members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, where both served as lectors and ecumenical ministers. Both were charter members of the Golden Agers of Mariposa, actively working to raise funds for the construction of a senior activity center which he helped design. Joe loved to tell stories of his engineering activities, including working on the home General Electric built for the late Ronald Reagan when he was hosting Death Valley Days, sponsored by the company.

Mrs. Emerson was charter president of St. Joseph’s Family Guild and her late husband was active in the Knights of Columbus until his death in 2000.

She is survived by her son, Philip and his wife, Donna; who recently retired to Mariposa after a career as a commerical fisherman in Alaska; daughters, Mona Johnson (Jerry) of Klamath Falls, OR; Noreen Frieling of Susanville; and Mollie Tucker (Darrell) of Mariposa; a son-in-law, Jason Reed of Pinecrest; and her sister, Moira Wilkins of Plancia; and multiple nieces and nephews; and 11 grandchildren, Peggy Hutchinson of Columbus, Ohio; Timothy Reed of Santa Monica, Jesse Frieling of Ione, Luke Frieling of Chico, Matthew Johnson of Klamath Falls, OR.; Katie Dargis of Roseburg, OR.; Gabe Emerson of Minnesota, Megan Emerson of Portland, OR.; Ellen Hutchinson of Columbus, Ohio; and Patrick, Emily and Will Tucker of Mariposa; and many local friends. She will be missed by all.