Cora E. Specht passed away on June 4, 2017, at Serenity House, a hospice facility in Santa Barbara, California after a short but intense battle with an aggressive form of lymphoma. She was 89 years old.
She is survived by her daughter, Mary Gilmour, and son-in-law, Jim Gilmour, of Santa Barbara, California; her son, Grant Specht, and daughter-in-law, Louise Lofquist, of Camarillo, California; four grandchildren, Ryan Gilmour (and wife, Erin Modecai), Jaime Johnson (and husband, Sam Johnson, Dylan Specht, and Shane Specht, and her great grandson, Emmett Johnson.
Cora was born on February 20, 1928, to Ray and Bertha Emmert in Des Moines, Iowa. Cora attended McPherson College in Kansas for two years and then transferred to Grinnell College in Iowa, receiving a B.A. degree in Economics and Business in 1950. After graduation she taught 5th grade in Ames, Iowa, and 7th and 8th grade in Belle Plaine, Iowa, before receiving an M.S. degree in Education from Drake University, in Des Moines, in 1954.
After her children went off to college, Cora volunteered for four years in the Career Counseling Center at Union County Technical Institute, in New Jersey, and in 1981 earned an M.A. degree in Student Personnel Services (Guidance and Counseling) at Kean College of New Jersey, graduating with a 4.0 GPA.
Cora married Gordon D. Specht on May 24, 1952, beginning a loving marriage that lasted over 60 years until Gordon’s death in 2012. They moved to Westfield, New Jersey, in 1954, where they lived for the next 50 years. Cora devoted herself to raising her children and creating a warm and caring home environment for her family. Cora was active in the First United Methodist Church in Westfield, where she served in various capacities, from teaching and playing piano for Sunday school to serving as chairperson on numerous church committees.
In 1983, Cora opened her own business, Career and Leisure Horizons, a career, educational, and leisure counseling and consulting service in Westfield. Cora ran Career and Leisure Horizons for 20 years before moving to Santa Barbara in 2004 to be closer to her children and grandchildren.
Cora was an accomplished pianist and enjoyed music throughout her life. She also enjoyed playing bridge, travel, bicycling, hiking, and reading. She was an avid canoeist who joined her family on countless white water canoeing trips on the Delaware River. One of her great joys was exploring national parks on numerous family vacations.
Cora was a devout Christian with a strong faith in God. She was a charter member of Stover Memorial Church of the Brethren in Des Moines, a 50-year member of the First United Methodist Church in Westfield, N.J., and later a member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara. In recent years, Cora lived in an independent living apartment at The Samarkand retirement community in Santa Barbara, where she enjoyed the beautiful mountain view and spending time with her extended family at numerous family gatherings.
[S5] Find A Grave, → Memorial ID 181590724.
1928 - 2017 (89 years)
Siblings
. Grant Randall SPECHT, b. May 1957 (Age 67 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set