Emma Naomi Pease

On the morning of Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, Emma Naomi Pease of Canton went home to be with the Lord while at Bradford County Manor. She was 89 years of age.

Born July 11, 1921 in Towanda, she was a daughter of Lawrence and Helen (Crandell) Pease. Know to family and friends as Naomi, she was sent along with her sister, Helen, to live with her aunt Clara Smiley on Tioga Street in Canton following the untimely death of her mother. Her brother, William, was sent to live with their paternal grandparents in LeRaysville.

Young Naomi attended the Canton schools where she showed proficiency for music and languages. Upon graduating with honors from Canton High School in 1938, she enrolled in Mansfield State Teachers' College, now Mansfield University, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942. For more than three decades, she applied her gift of language skills as a teacher of French, Latin and English, first at Towanda High School and later at Curtin Junior High School in Williamsport.

Over the years, Naomi traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe with her sister Helen and many of her fellow teachers and friends. She was an avid reader and was a long-time member of the Canton Literary Club. She loved classical music, enjoyed playing the piano and was a member of the Canton Music Club. Proud of her heritage, she was an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and in keeping with her love of the community, was a member of the Village Improvement Association who honored her as Woman of the Year. She was by every standard a lady who carried herself through life with dignity and grace.

Naomi was a woman with a deep abiding faith in the Lord, and was an active member of the Church of Christ (Disciples) of Canton for as long as her health would permit. Though her active life was somewhat curtailed in recent years, she still welcomed the company of family and friends, who in turn enjoyed her keen wit, sense of humor and kind disposition.

Naomi is survived by her brother William (and Mary) Pease of Port Crane, N.Y.; her sister, Helen Landon, formerly of Canton and now of Jupiter, Fla., as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Calling hours will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 16 at the Church of Christ (Disciples) of Canton, East Union Street at Minnequa Avenue, Canton. Services will be at 11 a.m. with Pastor Bonnie Browning and Rev. David B. Morris officiating. Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery, Towanda. The family will provide the flowers and suggests that memorial contributions be directed to the Green Free Library, 38 N. Center St., Canton, PA 17724.

Professional services have been entrusted to Morse & Kleese Funeral Home Inc., 94 N. Center St., Canton.