Emma Sophie Hresko

December 2, 1923 - January 16, 2022

Emma Sophie Hresko of Denton, MD passed away peacefully on January 16, 2022. She was 98 years old. Born on December 2, 1923, in New London, Conn., she was daughter of Thomas and Clara Jones. Emma was notoriously known for “rushing” as that doesn’t fully capture the speed at which she operated and the all-encompassing nature of this character trait. Being with her was often like being with the roadrunner from Looney Tunes. She never stopped. The upside to all of the rushing was that she seemed to outrun death and illness with a success rate that became more baffling and impressive as the years went on. Being diagnosed with stage IV Cancer over three years ago, her doctor gave her two months to live. When the situation was explained to her, she proclaimed that she absolutely DIDN’T have cancer. She then proceeded to get healthier for much of the next few years, thus likely making her one of the only people in their 90s to defeat Stage IV Cancer just by refusing to believe that she had cancer. Emma was also one of the most deeply and apolitically progressive people I have ever known. She was never anything other than herself. She had zero pretense. She was unmoved by status, wealth, education, or prestige. I never saw her treat anyone differently than anyone else. I never saw her reject someone. I can’t think of a single kind of person who would have been unwelcome to pull up a chair next to her. I can’t think of a neighbor who could have moved in next door whom she wouldn’t have invited in. She was a salt-of-the-earth, radically tolerant kind of person for no reason other than that was the way she had always been. She was sui generis, an oddball, but deeply sweet and deeply decent at her core, and hilarious to boot. Emma is predeceased by her loving husband of 54 years, Ted F. Hresko. She is survived by her sons, Ted E. Hresko and Richard Hresko; Daughter, Diane Babach; six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and the entire staff of her assisted living facility who adored her until the very end and were such a blessing to our family. A graveside service will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery & Mauseleum in North Arlington, NJ on Friday, January 22, 2022 at 1:45 PM For online tributes, please visit www.fhnfuneralhome.com