PORTLAND, Ore. - Anajune Stewart Pitchford, 95, passed away peacefully shortly before midnight on Wednesday, May 23, 2012.
Anajune was born Aug. 2, 1916, in Mattoon, Ill., the only child of James "Jae" A. Stewart and Edith B. Bidle.
Anajune lived in Mattoon until age 5, then the family moved to California for two years, subsequently returning to Illinois until 1925, when they moved to Gary, Ind.
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Anajune S. Pitchford
Anajune graduated from Emerson High School in Gary with the class of 1934, then completed Emerson Vocational School and attended Gary Business College. She also studied business and accounting at the Gary Branch of Indiana University.
She worked for the B.F. Goodrich Company in Gary for 13 years as the credit and operating manager.
Anajune was a talented keyboard instruments musician who played piano, accordion and organ for many years, both as a hobby and professionally. She was also known for her artwork in the form of paintings, sculpture, ceramics and textile arts.
Anajune married Irving Mansel "Red" Pitchford at Central Christian Church in Gary on April 7, 1940. Irv and Anajune had one son, Randall Stewart Pitchford, currently a resident of Oregon with his wife, Lois Manley Pitchford.
Anajune and Irv moved to Warren in 1956, where they resided for 39 years before moving to Oregon in 1995. Irv passed away in Oregon on Aug. 29, 2003.
Anajune was a 60-year member of Delta Theta Tau sorority, a nonprofit group of women dedicated to raising funds for charitable causes across the nation. She was a member of Trumbull Art Guild for 35 years and a volunteer Pink Lady at Trumbull Memorial Hospital for more than 10 years, both in Warren.
She was a founding member of Chapel of the Dunes in Miller Beach, Ind., as well as a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Warren for 39 years.
Anajune is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, and many extended family members.
In recent years, Anajune was a resident of The Wilsonville, an assisted living community in Wilsonville, Ore., most recently with special care by Serenity Hospice of Portland. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to these organizations for the loving care provided.
Donations in Anajune's name may be made to Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation, 100 Park Ave., Suite 108, Rockville, MD 20852 (www.aamds.org) or to The MDS Foundation, 4573 S. Broad St. Suite 150, Yardville, NJ 08620 (www.mds-foundation.org).
An interment service will be conducted at 10 a.m. July 21 in Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville, Ind.
Anajune will be interred next to Irv and her parents in the family grave plot.
Arrangements were handled by Attrell's Sherwood Funeral Chapel, Sherwood, Ore.
(special notice)