Alma Evelyn Emerson

June 27, 1910 - September 28, 2017

At the age of 107 Alma Evelyn (Hill) Emerson left us quickly and gracefully, from heart failure. A resident of Piedmont Gardens in Oakland for 22 years, Alma greeted every day with joy and had a smile and a kind word for everyone. No matter how she felt, she always said she was fine. As she passed the age of 100 and kept on going, people would ask her the secret of her long life. She would say, “Oh I guess it’s just longevity.”

Alma was born in Toronto to Mabel and Walter Hill, the oldest of six children. When Alma was still living at home, her mother started Hill’s Florist and made a success of it: the business is still in the family and still on Bloor St. West in Toronto.

Alma was a quiet observer, with a great sense of humor. She loved to watch people and she was never judgmental. At Piedmont Gardens she volunteered widely and attended almost every program. Until near the end of her life Alma continued to read the paper and work out on an exercise bicycle in the gym. Eleven days before her death, Alma and her daughter went out for a hamburger and attended a jazz concert.

Alma took photos and created albums that show her love of life and love of family. She set an example of how to stay connected over time and distance. Although she moved many, many times in her married life as her husband John sought the perfect engineering job, Alma kept in touch with her extended family. She noted family events and current contact information on index cards, and sent a holiday letter every year. She was highly skilled in textile arts, from sewing to needlepoint, knitting, and other crafts.

Alma had worked as a bookkeeper, but her longest career was as a wife and mother. At age 52, she got her licensed practical nursing degree in Lakewood, Ohio, graduating first in her class. After moving to Charleston, SC where she and John lived for 32 years, Alma was active in her church, the symphony, the theater, and various volunteer organizations. She was named “volunteer of the year” in Charleston, the first of many times she would enjoy such an honor.

After her husband John passed away in 1993, Alma moved to Piedmont Gardens in 1995, to be near her daughter Sandra.

Alma is survived by her daughter Sandra, of Berkeley, California, and by several generations of nieces, nephews, and cousins in California and in Canada.