Elmer Louis Erwin

Elmer Louis Erwin of Los Gatos, California passed away on Monday, September 15, 2025, at the age of 98. He was born on October 6, 1926, in Tulare County, California where he grew up as the youngest child of four. Elmer was a proud fourth generation California native. His parents, Louis and Erla Erwin, were both schoolteachers by trade, but also had a large ranch consisting primarily of peach orchards. Elmer had childhood memories of picking peaches in triple digit Central Valley heat, arms itchy with sweat and peach fuzz.

Elmer graduated from high school in Visalia in 1944. He did a brief stint in the U.S. Navy, but WWII ended before he could be deployed. He subsequently attended U.C. Berkeley, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He went on to land a job in the Bay Area, working as an engineer for Kaiser Cement Corporation in Cupertino. He went from hands-on work at the cement plant to management and eventually rose to the position of Vice President. He traveled all over the world overseeing the installation and improvement of cement plants, especially in Southeast Asia.

Elmer married his wife M’Jeanne on February 24, 1954. They lived in Los Angeles for about a year before relocating to Los Gatos, California. After studying maps of the area, they chose Los Gatos because they wanted to live in a small town on the edge of a larger metropolitan area, and Los Gatos fit the bill perfectly. They bought a house near Blossom Hill and Union Avenue, which at that time was still surrounded by the orchards that had given the Santa Clara Valley its original nickname, “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” It was there that their children were born, Cathy in 1958 followed by Chris in 1960.

In 1964 Elmer and M’Jeanne moved up to the Santa Cruz Mountains and rented a house on west Summit Road. Three years later, they bought an old farmhouse on four acres on east Summit, where M’Jeanne started raising Arabian horses and nearly 200 hybrid bearded iris. As she put it, “Elmer made ALL of my dreams come true!”

In 1985, they moved to a 128-acre property out on Loma Prieta Way that they had purchased some years earlier, and upon which they built their sprawling, ranch style dream house. They designed it themselves and had it built by long-time mountain resident Charlie Norman, a local contractor who was also their neighbor. A beautiful, sweeping piece of land, the Loma Prieta Way property had plenty of flat open space, and—unusual for the Santa Cruz Mountains—an abundant supply of water that never ran out, even during the most punishing droughts. On clear days, of which there were many, you could see the Pacific Ocean.

In his retirement, Elmer (who enjoyed red wine) planted a vineyard, where he grew pinot noir, along with few sauvignon blanc vines. He made a few small batches of wine himself but primarily partnered with a local winery to produce excellent pinot that once sold for $50/bottle at the case price. His wine was a huge hit with family and friends alike and soon became a treasured part of family gatherings.

Elmer was preceded in death by his parents, Nelson and Erla Erwin, his siblings, Helen (Erwin) Roth, Robert Erwin, Samuel Erwin, and his niece, DeeAnn (Erwin) Jenning.

Elmer is survived by his wife, M’Jeanne Erwin, his daughter Catherine Kendall (spouse Steve), his son Christopher Erwin (spouse Leah), his grandchildren Monica Adams (spouse Keira), Alexander Moore, Daniel Moore (spouse Shannon), and great-granddaughter, Moira Adams.

One of Cathy’s favorite stories involved a drive past the graveyard on Old San Jose-Soquel Road: “It was my birthday, my 10th as I recall, and my party was held at a roller rink in Santa Cruz. As little girls do, we were talking and laughing in the back seat of the car while Dad, seemingly oblivious to our chatter, drove. As we approached the old graveyard, one girl brought up the spooky superstition that you must hold your breath while passing a graveyard because if you didn’t, you might just breathe in a lost soul. I don’t think any of us actually believed this, but just to be safe, we all held our breath as we prepared to pass the cemetery. It took us a second or two to realize that the car was going slower…and slower…and slower. Yes, Dad had been listening to every word and decided to mess with us by slowing down gradually and finally coming almost to a stop. This, of course, forced us to breathe…and risk inhaling wandering spirits. But as I recall, we all had a good laugh, including Dad, and no one suffered any lasting spiritual harm.”

Chris and Dad loved the snow and frequently went skiing together. One of Chris’ favorite stories concerns one of those trips: “Dad and I loved to ski. We’d just arrived at Peddler Hill, a tiny ski resort off of Highway 88 that is no longer there. Me being about 10 years old, I brought a snow saucer with us. There’s a steep hill that heads straight down to the canyon adjacent to the parking lot. As I brought my saucer out to go down the hill, a stranger we’d chatted with for a few minutes said, ‘The kid better take his lunch if he goes down there.’ Dad just quipped, ‘He’ll learn.’ I went down part way, fell over, and quickly figured out that the stranger was right on all counts. It wasn’t truly dangerous, but it was a little more trouble than I anticipated.”

Then there was the winemaker versus wildlife story: “When Dad had his vineyard, he was plagued by a troublesome buck that kept getting into the vineyard and eating all the grapes. The beast would jump the fence no matter what. Sometime later, Dad informed me the buck had died. He said with his characteristic smirk, ‘That buck is dead. We think it was a mineral imbalance (i.e. a case of rapid onset lead poisoning).’”

The family would like to thank first responders, the staff of Dominican Hospital, and Hospice of Santa Cruz for the care and compassion they showed Elmer in his final days.

Due to logistical challenges and the onset of winter and holidays, the family is postponing a celebration of Elmer’s life until spring 2026 and will notify family and friends when the date, time, and place are set.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Elmer’s honor to The Salvation Army.