Anne D. Spehar
Of San Francisco, California was called home to the Lord on Sunday, November 10, 2013 at the age of 97. Anne was born on January 27, 1916 in Belgrade, Minnesota, the Mesabi Iron Range, where her father worked in the iron ore mines. Anne was preceded in death by her parents, John and Anna Spehar, brother, John Spehar, and sister, Rose (late John) Skerbish. Anne is survived by her youngest sister, Celeste Spehar, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and caring nieces, Jean (late Wayne) Schaefer, and Janice (Gary) Best. Dear grandaunt to Molly (Scott) Reynen, Jill (Joel) Natrop and Adam (Susie) Skerbish. Great grandaunt to Nicholas and Alyssa Natrop, Joshua and Hannah Reynen, and Samuel Skerbish. Anne was the valedictorian of her high school graduation class in 1934, and went on to the University of Minnesota and received her BS degree in Dietetics in 1938. She served an internship in Dietetics in Cleveland, Ohio until 1941, then joined the Army in WWII to work as a dietitian until 1945. By 1950 she was living in Miami, Florida, working at the VA Hospital there, where she became the Assistant Director of Dietetics. In 1963, Anne decided to accept a position in San Francisco at the VA Hospital as Assistant Director of Dietetics where she continued her love of cooking. She became Director of Dietetics in 1965, and for the next 18 years until her retirement in 1983 was responsible for feeding 300 veterans, who were patients in the hospital, three meals a day. For the past eleven years Anne has been living at Vintage Golden Gate retirement home, where she enjoyed all the activities provided there, from painting, creative writing, exercise classes, even computer classes, to the musical programs and book club. Most of all, Anne loved her crossword puzzles that she did every morning, and reading the newspaper and her books. Thank you to all the people at Vintage who took such good care of Anne. You made her life as pleasant as possible, even when she was not well. Anne's remains will be taken to the Minnesota Cemetery where her family is buried. Memorial Masses will be celebrated for Anne at her family's church in Wisconsin.