Anita Jern

Anita was born in Seattle April 19, 1947 to Melvin Arthur Wentworth and Margaret Helen Wentworth. She briefly attended school in Seattle before moving to the Spokane area with her family and graduated from Mead High School in 1965.

The search for a job after high school took her back to western Washington where she stayed with family. She found a job at Yard Birds in Chehalis, Washington where she met and began dating John Jern. Anita and John were married in 1967 and welcomed their first daughter, Susan, in spring of 1968. Later that year the family of three moved to Ketchikan, Alaska following John's radio broadcasting career. About a year later the family packed up and moved back to eastern Washington on Anita's parents’ farm. Another daughter, Catherine, was born in 1972 and shortly after the family of four moved to Longview where John had found a new radio job.

In 1975, the family moved to St. Anthony, Idaho but again moved back to Addy, Washington to the Wentworth family farm three years later. Anita and John bought property outside Colville, Washington and began building a house to which they moved in 1981.

Anita returned to school in fall of 1986 at Spokane Falls Community College and was awarded her AA degree in accounting two years later and began working at the Colville school district superintendent's office.

In 1991, she and John moved to Lacey, Washington. In Lacey, Anita worked in various accounting positions in both private industry and state government and eventually found a place with the Washington State Department of Retirement Services from which she retired in 2010.

Following retirement, Anita and John moved to Battle Ground to be close to their young granddaughters, Amanda and Keira, where they provided support to their daughter and her family.

Anita had always been interested in quilt making and with the move to Lacey she was able to seriously work at improving her skills. Her quilts are great works of art as she had a great eye for color and pattern combinations. Many were gifted to friends and family and local charity favorites of Anita.

Another favored interest of Anita was gardening and growing dahlias. At the home in Battle Ground she and John were known for their amazing garden produce that was shared with friends, family, and neighbors. Anita also created a flower business using her dahlias and other flowers grown in the garden to make fresh bouquets that she sold at her roadside stand.

In lieu of flowers, Anita had requested that donations be made to the local food bank, local education programs, OHSU cancer research or other favored charities.