My condolences

Greetings,
I wanted send my condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Mc Creery. I also want to leave a scripture that you can read later which is taken from Isaiah 25:8. If you have any Bible questions, please visit jw.org. I hope this was of comfort to you.

My condolences

Greetings,
I want to send my condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Creery. I also want to leave a scripture for you to read later which is taken from Isaiah 25:8. If you have any Bible questions, please visit jw.org. I hope this was of comfort to you.

I will always miss Anita.

I met Anita through our then-neighbor Lois Blair. On the first day of our move to Atherton inn 1985, Anita showed up on our driveway and offered to do whatever was necessary to make our transition into a new home and community easier. That is when I was lucky enough to become Anita's friend.

For years, as a busy mother of two small children with little adult stimulation, Anita was my intellectual companion. I will never forget how we researched videos and selected The Silk Road series to become our first weekly meeting focus. We moved on to Civilization, and other series, and these sessions helped me keep my sanity. It was helpful that Anita understood my dilemma, and with no fanfare or pity, simply became an understanding support.

I grew to realize how pragmatic and sensible she was. She did what had to be done, and then did what she loved. She was opinionated and passionate about politics, always advocating for the underprivileged. But she also willing to hear the options for achieving the same results, and displayed respect for those that disagreed with her, a rare quality, and a model to all.

Anita had a plethora of hobbies and interests, WWII aviation, in which her father died before her birth; Nelson Eddy and his movies and croonings; the Iditarad, in which an uncle participated; anthropology, having pursued a degree after Bill's death, and then becoming one of the founding members of the Stanford Anthropology group; the piano, another later-in-life venture that proved anybody can do it at any time; bridge; geology; letters to the Chronicle; her Book Group; and of course the Great Books at the Vi, along with her presentations on water issues, Papau, New Guinea, and more, and more, and more.

If we asked, she would regale us with stories of going to school in France as a young teenager, and of the Gatsby-like life her mother led on the French Riviera after her father's death…. or her trips abroad…or visiting the Roosevelt home…. Maybe this is why she was always so elegant and contained and polite.

All these years as she contended with cancer, she would answer questions about it, give updates, and then say, "Let's talk about something interesting now!" She dealt with her illness with courage, facing it, but making the most of her life. Just weeks before her death, she was perusing a brochure from Lascaux, trying to figure out the time relationship between French caves and Catal Huyuk! In the end, when there was no longer hope or comfort, she left all that interested her, all that sustained her, all those she loved….. and oh, she did love them….. and let herself go with the intelligence, dignity, courage, and elegance with which she always lived.

I miss Anita. I will always miss Anita.

8-16-1926 - 12-19-2015

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> Anita D. McCreery died peacefully after squeezing out every moment of life allotted to her and every ounce her body had to give. She lived well and fully.
> She grew up in Tacoma, Washington, spent much of high school in Paris, left for college and married Dr William B. McCreery.
> They had two daughters, (Alice and Anita), and all moved to Atherton. Anita worked with the Junior League, was on the board of Santa Clara County In-Home Care and was largely responsible for getting their Meals-on-Wheels program started there. She rode horses extensively at a young age and always had dogs or cats.
> Anita was a scout leader for both daughters, and spent a year researching and putting together an extraordinary trip to Europe for the family in 1961. She was also an accomplished classical pianist, playing 2-3 hours a day.
> She was widowed at age 52 and Anita’s life changed direction. Within a few years she had completed a degree in Physical Anthropology at San Jose State and founded the Anthropology Group which flourished for at least 2 decades. She studied geology. Anita travelled to China, Africa, New Guinea, Egypt, Europe, Greece and numerous places across the U.S. She developed slide shows with detailed scripts to share with friends and interested parties. Anita moved to the Vi in Palo Alto, California,She describes her 8 years there as some of the happiest of her life. Anita almost immediately got involved in the “Current Events” group, made numerous presentations and participated in lengthy discussions. She loved nothing better than to dine with well-educated and intellectual people . She loved spending time playing bridge with several groups as well as mulling over an interesting book with her book group that met a few weeks before she died. Anita was extremely sharp , determined and fascinated by a broad range of topics.
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> She is survived by her two daughters, Ali and Anita, and her 2 grandchildren, Will and Sarah. She has 3 great granddaughters
> A memorial Celebration will be held at the Vi in Palo Alto on Saturday, January 23rd, 2-4 pm.
> In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to: The Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and Pathways Hospice