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In Memory

Jane Elizabeth Lucas (Cressy) - Class Of 1940 VIEW PROFILE

Jane Elizabeth Lucas (Cressy)

JANE E. (LUCAS) CRESSY

CRESSY, Jane Elizabeth Jane Elizabeth Cressy, née Lucas, age 96, died peacefully in her home on Tuesday, September 11, 2018.

She is preceded in death by her husband Ralph Cressy, and will be remembered as a loving mother to her four children, Tim (Kathy) Cressy, Jamie (Vic) Belcastro, Beth (Frank) Hauser, and Carol (Ron) Eberle. Jane was also a grandmother of 14 and a great-grandmother of 21.

Jane was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana by her widowed mother Esther Lucas. Her father's untimely death occurred during the peak of the Depression. Jane was only 7 and her sister Marie was 11 at the time of his passing. Jane quickly learned to carry her own weight during those formative years, which served her well throughout her life as she became a very strong and independent woman, even up to the time of her passing.

After graduating from Central High School, she enrolled in accounting classes at the University of Notre Dame under their Engineering, Science and Management War Training Program. This education served her well throughout her career, as she honed her exceptional skills in accounting/bookkeeping management, and later on when she found her niche in the hospitality industry.

After moving in 1960 with her husband and four children from Indiana to a small town in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois called Midlothian, it was there she found her true calling. She was hired at a very popular home town family restaurant in its time called Cavallini's. She combined her accounting skills along with organizing, booking, hosting and planning special events from corporate picnics to lavish weddings, and quickly earned a name for herself as being the person to plan your next event. After more than 25 years experience, and with the encouragement from her friends and devoted customers, at the age of 62, she started her own business and appropriately named it "Catering Consulting by Jane". Her business mantra was always "for that personal touch". For the next decade she ran a hugely successful business coordinating galas and venues big and small from private parties, weddings, business functions, and boat parties on Lake Michigan to hosting Lucie Arnaz and Tommy Tune for their "My One and Only" after party at the "Limelight" in downtown Chicago. She was even called upon to provide the food and furniture in the dressing room for a concert at the Rosemont Horizon featuring "The Who".

Jane was so much a master at her profession that she was even asked to teach a class at a local community college on "No Panic Party Planning", where many of her clients eagerly signed up for the course. Jane will be remembered by her vivacious personality and infectious enthusiasm from all the smiles she put on faces to the many hearts she touched in both her personal and professional life. She will be missed dearly by all who knew her.

A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00AM on Saturday, November 3, at St. Clare Catholic Church, 821 Prosperity Farms Rd, North Palm Beach. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to Hospice of Palm Beach County.

Published by Palm Beach Post on Oct. 14, 2018.

01/12/2023 EJS



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