Edna Louise Cress

1906 - 2006  (100 years)

• Name	Edna Louise Cress
  Born	15 Jan 1906	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Female
  Famous	Author
  Residence	1911	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Lutheran
  Residence	1921	30 Spetz St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Residence	1921	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	Presbyterian
  Died	12 Sep 2006	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Website	2009
  	Canadian Who's Who 1997 Edition On the Web
  Website	2009
  	wikipedia
  	Wikipedia Entry
  Name	Cora Margaret Cress
  Name	Edna Louise Staebler
  Name	Edna Staebler
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-4092
  Person ID	I4092	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	John G. Cress,   b. 7 Apr 1875, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Mother	Louise Sattler,   b. 24 Jan 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 8 Mar 1972  (Age 91 years)
  Married	15 Jul 1903	London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  Family ID	F22088	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Frederick Keith "Keith" Staebler,   b. 22 May 1908, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 1993  (Age 84 years)
  Last Modified	12 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F184687	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Staebler, Edna - at type writer.jpg https://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/resources/archives/culinary/culinary-collection/edna-staebler/biography.htm

  
  

• Notes

  Edna's 100th bash really schmecks Monday January 16, 2006 BARBARA AGGERHOLM RECORD STAFF Edna Staebler (middle) was visited by Janet Berton, wife of the late Pierre Burton and author George C. Blackburn during her 100th birthday party held at Wilfrid Laurier University yesterday. WATERLOO -- At 100 years of age, Edna Staebler still turns heads. Yesterday, about 500 people at Wilfrid Laurier University applauded, cheered and whistled as they celebrated the 100th birthday of one of Waterloo Region's most famous and most loved residents. They hummed along as concert singer Daniel Lichti sang One Enchanted Evening while Staebler, wearing a white feather boa, smiled from her wheelchair at the front of the room. And they laughed as they watched a moving mini-documentary by Staebler's friend, Laurence McNaught, featuring interviews with Staebler's long-time buddy, Pierre Berton. It was a party befitting a queen, a rock star, or maybe both. Party-goers, young and old -- Edna "groupies" as cookbook author Rose Murray called them -- lined up to shake the hand of the elegant-looking woman in the bright red jacket whose eyes sparkled when she recognized her friends. "It's fabulous," Staebler said in a brief interview at the end of the party when dozens of people were lining up again to give her a hug. "It's much more than I expected." Staebler, author of books, journals, magazine articles and the famous Schmecks cookbooks, turned 100 yesterday. There were greetings from the Queen, the prime minister and from municipal, provincial and federal politicians. But it was quickly clear that Staebler's writing -- though praised as shining -- was not the only way she touches people. It's her interest in each and every person she meets, party-goers said. It's her ability to look forward to the next day. "She radiates a charisma, a joy in life," said author Veronica Ross, who wrote Staebler's biography. "She focuses on people and makes them feel important." Janet Berton, Staebler's longtime friend and wife of Pierre Berton who died in 2004, said Staebler always speaks well of people. "Edna never gossiped," said Berton, who attended the party with daughters Pamela and Patsy. And if, in her writing, she did, it was always "pleasant gossip." Staebler is ageless, she is opinionated, she is fun, she takes risks, she encourages, she accepts life and she doesn't look back, friends said. "Her heart is focused on what it can do," said CBC Radio host Tom Allen, an Edna Staebler Award winner. "And it has done a tremendous lot." Staebler's masterful writing and story-telling is not to be downplayed, said author Wayson Choy, who won Staebler's Creative Non-Fiction Award in 2000 for Paper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood. Choy jested that he had only one complaint about Staebler -- she should have visited a Chinatown kitchen when she was writing her Schmecks cookbooks featuring Old Order Mennonite cooking. "Can you imagine? All of you would have woks now," he said. "That would have been the power of Edna . . . Ah, if only you had visited my mother's kitchen." TV Ontario broadcaster Paula Todd, who gave Staebler the feather boa and wore one herself, said she broke journalism's rule after she interviewed Staebler many years ago. She went back to see her again and again and they became good friends. "How do you not stay friends with Edna?" said Todd, the party's master of ceremonies. Staebler was born on the dining room table of her parents' Kitchener home on Jan. 15, 1906. It must have been sunny, said Kathryn Wardropper, party organizer and Staebler's creative non-fiction award administrator. But there might also have been a full-throttle winter storm. Both types of weather would have been fitting for a woman who is complex, stubborn and joyful, Wardropper said. Friends praised her sense of humour, and her ability to make people "come alive on the pages" in her famous cookbooks, Food That Really Schmecks, More Food That Really Schmecks and Schmecks Appeal. baggerholm@therecord.com The Record Newspaper 13 Sep 2006 EDNA LOUISE STAEBLER 1906 - 2006 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Edna Staebler, peacefully, in her sleep, at the Columbia Forest Nursing Home, on September 12, 2006.Fondly remembered by her niece, Barbara (nee Hodgson) Wurtele and her husband Peter; by her nephews, Jim Hodgson and John Dimma and his wife Jill; grand-niece, Meghan and grandnephews, Christopher, Michael and Andrew. Also remembered by her grandniece, Patti Wurtele, her husband Dick Mattinson and her great-grandniece, Alex. Remembered by her grandnephew, Kenneth Wurtele and her great-grandnieces, Thea and Jasmine Wurtele. Survived by her sister, Ruby Dimma.Predeceased by her parents, Louise (nee Sattler) and John Cress; her sister, Norma Hodgson; her brothers-in-law, Ralph Hodgson and Robert Dimma and her niece, Mary Lou Dimma.Edna was the author of the Food That Really Schmecks cookbook series, several creative non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles included in publications such as Macleans, Saturday Night, Canadian Living. She established the annual Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction in addition to many scholarships and bursaries. Several of Canada's most well-known writers were her friends. Edna has been a mentor to people from all walks of life. Edna received many awards and distinctions, the highest becoming a Member of the Order of Canada.At Edna's request, cremation has taken place. The family will arrange a private gathering at Edna's Sunfish Lake home to celebrate her life. A public tribute will be held at a later date.Condolences for the family and donations to the Kitchener or Waterloo Public Libraries would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy and may be arranged through the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street South, Waterloo, 519-745-8445 or www.erbgood.com In memory of Edna, a tree will be planted through the Trees for Learning Program by the funeral home.

  
  

• Sources

  [S57] Vit - ON - Birth Registration. Cora Margaret Cress [Edna Staebler] [Edna Louise Cress] Born: 15 Jan 1906 County: Waterloo Father: John G Cress Mother: Louisa Sattler [There appears to have been a name change in 1910] [S340] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1911, Div. 34 Page 8. [S2264] Census - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - 1921, Sub District 29 Page 18. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration. Louise Sattler Born: Waterloo Cty. Age: 22 Father: John Sattler Mother: Rosie Schiefley Born: abt 1881 Spouse: John G Cress Age: 28 born: Waterloo Cty Father: Levi Cress Mother: Mary Ann Gib Cress married 15 Jul 1903, London

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 15 Jan 1906 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Lutheran - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Presbyterian - 1921 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 12 Sep 2006 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth