Obituary of Grace Anderson

Grace Luceil Anderson Grace Anderson was the youngest child of Laura and Chris Thiles. She was born in the house her father built on the family farm, near Dunlap, Iowa in 1917. Her parents, older sisters Pearl Thiles Hard and Virginia Thiles Simpson and her nephew Duane Hard preceded her in death. Grace is survived by her brother Herbert (100 years old), his wife Helen, and seventeen nieces and nephews. All the Thiles children have been blessed with longevity, strong spirits, and clever and creative minds. Their parents were role models for efficiency, thrift and service to community. Grace was taught to be a life long learner and to persevere through hardship. Grace passed those characteristics on to her children and grandchildren. Grace married John H. Anderson of Woodbine, Iowa, in 1943. They moved to Seattle in 1945, where their two daughters, Jonnel and Janis, were born. In 1952, the family moved to Aberdeen, Washington, where John started his long banking and real estate appraisal career. John and Grace built two homes with extensive gardens in Aberdeen. Grace’s family thought she had more talents than most and that turned out to be true. Grace was a thoroughly industrious and productive person. With enormous natural talent and keen skills of observation, everything she produced was beautiful. She strove for perfection as she made clothing, gardens, meals, furniture and homes to share with family and friends. These characteristics would provide her many tools as she negotiated old age. John and Grace moved to Olympia in 1991 where they enjoyed a life with new friends and neighbors. John died in 2002 and Grace carried on building her new life. She was excited to learn to live alone. And she did so with the daily help of her granddaughter Eve and daughter Jonnel. She was visited regularly by her daughter Janis and her family and by family and friends from Iowa and Aberdeen. She did it with her hallmark efficiency and humor. She negotiated cancer treatment when she was 88, healed a broken arm when she was 91, listened avidly to talking books, and loved watching Dancing with the Stars. Although she relied on a wheelchair for 25 years, she managed to get around quite well. One of her favorite activities was sitting on her driveway on a sunny day and visiting with her neighbors. She lived with diabetes for 20 years but her meticulous record keeping and self-care kept her healthy. She had double vision and shaky hands, but she was able to read, garden, cook, type letters and manage the finances of her household. Grace had a fine sense of humor. She loved to joke and make others laugh. She wanted her obituary to say “she was beaten to death by Kelly’s tail.” Kelly is the family’s black lab. Grace would advise "save your money and spend time with family." In her last year, Grace nurtured her orchids to bloom and oversaw the construction of a new deck built on her house. Grace paid close attention to her daughters and grandchildren, sons-in-law, new and old friends. And they paid close attention to her. Grace was full of spirit and at peace when she died at home on February 1, 2011. Her daughters Janis and Jonnel and granddaughter Eve were with her. The day before she died, she visited with her grandson, his finance and each of her grandchildren by phone. The family ate dinner together, and Grace listened to stories about the upcoming wedding. Grace’s family is grateful to Eve who lived with and cared for her for the past four years. The family would like to thank Dr. David B. Kelly, Delores and Sharon for many years of excellent diabetes care and friendship; and Dr. Nicole Grous, Dr. Bittner, Dr. Sorum and others at Capital Medical Center and Dr. Bode and Dr. Chris Griffith. Each one of these practitioners listened carefully to Grace and her family. She received appropriate, respectful and quality care. A service was held in Grace’s home and attended by friends, family and neighbors. The Community for Interfaith Celebration, Blessing the Journey (home funeral guides Annie McManus and Karen Lohmann) and Funeral Alternatives provided support. Please leave memories and condolences for family online by clicking on "View Guestbook" below.