GRESS Anne D. Gress A longtime resident of Arlington, Virginia, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on October 28, 2017, in San Jose, California, following a recent stroke. She was 87 years old. She was known as "Nona" to her grandchildren and other children who came to love her. Anne was born on July 30, 1930, in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, the seventh of nine children born to Anthony and Rose (Verdecchia) DeMichele, immigrants from Abruzzo, Italy. In 1943, her widowed mother moved the family to Harrisburg, where Anne graduated from Catholic High School (now Bishop McDevitt), in 1948. In 1951, while working as a secretary at the Mechanicsburg Army Depot, Anne fell in love with and married Wilfred (Bill) Gress, a young Army officer from San Diego, California. For the next 22 years, Bill and Anne traveled the world together, living in Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, and the Philippines, ultimately settling in Arlington. Active in the Officers' Wives Club, Anne was a wonderful cook and gracious hostess. She studied French in Paris in the 1950s, and kept a passable fluency for the rest of her life. Anne was a tennis player and an active member of the Arlington Tennis Club. She enjoyed early morning walks, always toting biscuits in her pockets for the neighborhood dogs. She worked for many years for Arlington County Senior Adult Programs, where she directed duplicate bridge. Anne was an avid reader who loved discussing literature. She maintained a life-long interest in personal finance, and her oft-repeated advice to the young people in her life was to "pay yourself first." Anne and Bill were parishioners of St Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington, where they became like surrogate grandparents to a young family in the parish. After Bill's passing in 2014, Anne moved to California to be closer to her children and grandchildren. She leaves behind her son, Gregory (Joan) of Oakland, and daughter, Barbara (Mark Graham), of Santa Clara, CA, granddaughters, Elizabeth, Jane, Anne, and Julia, and a brother, Joseph (Nancy) DeMichele, of Fairfield, CT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday. April 21, at St. Agnes Church, Arlington, followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery at 1 p.m. Reception to follow immediately at the Women's Memorial, ANC. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the or favorite charity. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday. April 21, at St. Agnes Church, Arlington, followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery at 1 p.m. Reception to follow immediately at the Women's Memorial, ANC. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the or favorite charity.