Sept. 7, 1918 - July 9, 2008

Anna Lorraine Parker, 89, of La Grande, formerly of the Mennonite Village of Albany died Wednesday, July 9, at a local care facility with family singing by her side.

Anna was born up Butter Creek out of Echo, to John and May Deardorff. In the mid-20s, she moved with her family to the Powers area in Coos County, where she spent her years growing up.

She met Walt Parker there, and they were married on Oct. 20, 1938. She lived almost all her life in Oregon, with only a brief time away. The couple moved to Drewsey in Harney County in 1961, and worked on cattle ranches until Walt began work in county road maintenance. In order to escape the harsh winters of the high desert, they moved to Sixes in 1986, and lived there until Walt's death in 1988. In May of 1991 Anna moved to the Mennonite Village in Albany, where she stayed until her move to La Grande in September of 2005.

Anna believed that "idle hands are the devil's workshop," and was always busy doing something. She spent many hours with some sort of handwork until the final year of her life. She mostly knit, crocheted and tatted, and made hundreds of items in thread and yarn over her lifetime. While living in Albany and in La Grande, she crocheted dozens of blankets for the children at the ABC House in Albany. She began painting in her 50s, and her landscapes are now scattered around the country in the homes of her children and grandchildren. She was also very musical, and taught herself to play the piano, organ, accordion, violin, guitar, banjo, ukulele and harmonica. She could sing soprano, alto or tenor. She was an avid reader and always had hundreds of books on her shelves, believing that a book was just a bit more important than dust.

Anna had a rock solid faith in Jesus Christ and was a regular church participant all her life. She read her Bible through several times each year, and this was her handbook for how to live her life.

The main focus of Anna's life was always her family. She rarely worked outside the home and lent a real sense of security to her children by always being there.

She leaves behind six children, Shirley Stewart of Haines, Alaska; Peggy Tudor of Albany; Walt Parker of Council, Idaho; Paul Parker of Marsing, Idaho; Bertha Thompson of La Grande; and RJ (Ray) Parker of Republic, Wash.; 18 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, with another on the way.

Anna was preceded in death by her husband, Walt, of 50 years; her sister, Georgia, and an infant son and an infant daughter.

A memorial service took place July 12, and a burial service will take place later this summer, when her ashes will be interred next to those of her husband in Lebanon.

In her memory, please plant a yellow rose bush - it was her favorite flower.