Nathalie Nemeth

Nathalie Rosen Nemeth was a unique and wonderful woman who loved and served Santa Cruz well. She was born on July 3, 1914 in Bronx, New York and passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 25, 2005. She moved to Santa Cruz in 1981 and was a resident of The Sunshine Villa for the past 5-½ yrs.

Nathalie was the daughter of Minnie and Nathan Rosen and had 3 sisters and 2 brothers. The family lived in Detroit, MI for most of her life where her father was a painting contractor and worked on several prominent buildings. There she organized and ran a drapery and slipcover business before moving to Los Angeles in 1955. She then worked as an administrative assistant for many years, lastly for the LA County Employees Retirement Administration. Nathalie was very good at organizing business ideas and politically active with a great interest in promoting Democratic ideals. She was regularly in touch with her local and national representatives to solve problems and promote fairness for her fellow citizens. She started the push to install emergency call boxes along Hwy 17 and other roads when she felt empathy for a young woman from Santa Cruz who was struck by tragedy without available help after her car broke down. She also petitioned and saw through to completion a stop sign and crosswalk for the seniors at Woodland Senior Apartments on Soquel Dr. after accidents imperiled the elderly trying to cross the busy street, as reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on September 25, 1989. Nathalie was ever on the alert to inform authorities of safety when she saw the possibility of danger to the citizens in other cases as well.

Nathalie was a talented poet and her interest in many artistic and scientific subjects gave her inspiration to write. She also loved to take photographs of the natural beauty abounding in her sight and enjoyed meeting and talking to people sometimes documenting their acquaintance with pictures. She was a lover of music frequently requesting music and talking with disc jockeys over the air. She had an avid interest in baseball, first with the Detroit Tigers, then LA Angels, and finally with the local San Francisco bay area teams.

Nathalie is survived by her two daughters Maureen Nemeth of Aptos, CA and Susanne Milham of Sunset, SC, one brother Dr Robert Ross of New York City and Palm Beach, FL, one grandson Brendon Benjamin Nemeth of Aptos, two granddaughters Julie Milham Gardner of Carmichael, CA, and Laurie Milham Pastor of Bel Air, CA and one great grandson Cole Robert Gardner of Carmichael. She is predeceased by her husband Benjamin Nemeth of Santa Cruz.

Memorial service to be arranged at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice in her name.