Bess Blodgett
September 26, 1910 – November, 1, 2014
Elizabeth (Bess) Blodgett passed away quietly in Santa Cruz on November 1, 2014. She had celebrated her 104th birthday with a family dinner on September 26th.
The art community will recognize her name as an active water color painter and founding member of the Santa Cruz Watercolor Society since her arrival here in 1969. Born and brought up in Petaluma, Bess lived with her husband Jack and two daughters in Marin County, Argentina, and Texas. In the 1960s Bess and Jack’s work took them to Okinawa and Bangkok, Thailand, before they returned in 1969 to Seabright where Jack’s grandmother had settled in 1910. They were partners in Blodgett Travel which was owned by Jack’s brother, Bob Blodgett. In addition to her painting, Bess was involved with the University Farm and Garden from the early days of its development as well as with the UCSC library, where she volunteered in the Special Collections Department. Bess also taught conversational English to non-native speakers, an activity which she continued to pursue well into her late 90s.
For the past 13 years Bess has been living at Dominican Oaks where there will be a celebration of her life on December 23rd at 2 PM. She is survived by her two daughters Carol Cotton, and Lynn Piper, grandsons Kevin Gallagher and Ben Piper, granddaughters Laurie Gallagher, Leslie Gallagher McMahon and Emily Piper Allen as well as a large extended family. With an outgoing and loving personality Bess made lasting friends of all ages throughout her long and interesting life. Any remembrance contributions may be sent to Hospice of Santa Cruz or the UCSC Farm and Garden.