Early and personal life Lauretta Eby was born in
Flint, Michigan on February 10, 1863 to Aaron and Hannah Amelia Burkhart Eby. Her mother was a teacher and her father, a
Canadian immigrant, was an affluent
blacksmith and
carriage builder. She grew up in
Buchanan, Michigan. Kress and her husband were practicing
Baptists, and he later became a pastor. However, he left the ministry due to disagreements over
Sabbath observance. The couple eventually became
Seventh-day Adventists. Kress
painted china as a hobby. The family lived at 705 Carroll Avenue,
Takoma Park, Maryland, that is now a historic home.
Medical career After meeting
John Harvey Kellogg at a conference, Kress and her husband moved to
Battle Creek, Michigan, where they worked at the
Battle Creek Sanitarium. From the 1890s to the early 1900s, the couple worked as medical missionaries in
London and
Australia, at the personal urging of Seventh-day Adventist cofounder
Ellen G. White. While in Australia, Kress founded the
Sydney Sanitarium. In 1930, she became the Director of the Women's Clinic in
Washington, D.C. Kress was also a member of the Women’s Medical Association, serving as president of its D.C. chapter from 1927 to 1929 and as national chair of legislation from 1934 to 1935.
Health advocacy In 1909, Kress and her husband published the
Good Health Cookery Book, in which they advised readers to eat only two meals a day, both
vegetarian, one early in the morning and the other in the mid-afternoon. Kress was an early
opponent of smoking, believing it posed serious risks to health. She persuaded her husband to avoid smoking and drinking, and together they became lifelong advocates of abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and meat.
Later life and death In 1939, Kress, her husband, and their son John relocated to
Orlando, Florida, where they became members of the Winter Park church. They remained active in church life as well as in travel, writing, and public speaking. However, the physician shortage during the
Second World War prompted both Kress and her husband to resume full-time medical work for two years at the Florida Sanitarium and Hospital. Kress temporarily returned from retirement once more in 1948 to assist in the delivery of her 4,388th infant. == Publications ==