FREDICE LOUISE CRESSY
My first cousin twice removed
FREDICE LOUISE CRESSY was my grandfather Charles Fred
Fuller’s first cousin and the fifth child of Sarah Mary Stones and Thornton Robert
Cressy of Cowick, Yorkshire, England, and thus a sister of Georgianna Cressy
(Sister M. Christeta, CSC). She was born on 3 November 1893 in South Bend. Her
two eldest brothers were born in Cowick, where the old Cressy family home still
stands. Fredice's mother Sarah (Stones) Cressy was godmother to Eva and Blanche
Fuller, the two elder sisters of my grandfather. Fredice never married, but
neither did she become a nun like her sister Georgianna. Miss Cressy, as she
was to everyone known, passed away on 14 March 1961 at South Bend.
"The woman who arose at five a.m. to
attend daily Mass at Saint Joseph's would also give her Notre Dame boarding
students a piece of her mind when their behaviour fell below her expectations
for them. Woe to the student who might invite a young woman friend into the
upstairs apartment. The woman who stood for principled behaviour was also the
woman who taught her nieces how to cheat at canasta "spicing" up the
game a bit. The woman who diligently prayed the rosary every day of her life,
carrying her beads in her dress pockets, and had such a tender devotion to the
Blessed Mother, was not above using very colourful expletives to make her point
when the situation warranted it. She demanded - and got - the very best from a
person, but also coupled that with a wonderful permissive leniency allowing a
person's creativity to flower ...which delighted her. When as little ones we
acted up, aunt Fredice chuckled. When we danced or sang, she applauded. When we
stayed overnight, she lavished us with privileges unheard of at home - drinking
coffee or tea, staying up until ten p.m., going regularly to funeral homes, a
visit to see "Ma and Pa" and poor dear Clemmy and Robert at Cedar
Grove Cemetery, Friday night devotions at Saint Joseph parish, witness when her
friends the Sisters removed their white "halos" and "bibs"
when they came to visit and have a glass of beer. Her home was filled with
wonderful niches to explore. Peanut brittle and raisin cookies were always
available, and memorable hours were spent at her carved manual pump organ. On
the walls were old-fashioned pictures, the lilac hedge at the side of the house
was so fragrant in the spring, the stone pots of caladium on the front porch,
and every window ledge inside filled with creeping ivy and philodendren are all
part of our memories of Aunt Fredice. The bathroom smelled of Sweetheart soap
and the black and white marble tiles were so smooth under your feet. At night a
gentle fire in the stone fire-place created marvellous shadows in the living
room, and you could dance to them, leaping higher and higher as Mrs. Gooley and
Rose Nemeth marvelled at how gracefully you moved. Anyone who came to know Miss
Cressy... or Aunt Fredice, certainly never forgot her and most likely was
touched by her unique presence. Her faith was unshakeable, her will like iron -
and her eyes were always on the Lord. She is with Him today - she and Ma and Pa
- Alleluia!" (from an obituary written by one of Miss Cressy’s nieces.)