- Date Of Death: January 25, 2016
- State: Maryland
Anita Elizabeth Jones
On January 25th, 2016, her 92nd birthday, Anita Elizabeth Jones passed away quietly with her two daughters by her side. She was married to the late James Anderson (Andy) Jones for 32 years. She is survived by her two daughters, Anita (Libby) Jones and Ruth Ann Heck, and her husband Thomas Heck; her sister Ruth Vanek; her granddaughter Courtney Heck; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Anita was born and raised in Pennsylvania with her older brothers James and Bill, and younger siblings, Ruth and Frank. Her childhood was a difficult one, growing up during the depression with an absentee father and a mother forced to raise 5 children on her own. But she saw her mother as a towering figure of strength, who held the family together. Anita always spoke of her early life as a golden age, when she and her siblings swam in the river, made rafts, sledded down the mountain slopes, and picked wild berries.
Despite circumstances that would have defeated many, she did so well in school that she was allowed to skip 2 grades. She graduated in 1941, less than a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Anita came to Baltimore in 1942 with her mother and sister to work at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft factory. She was one of WWII’s “Rosie the Riveters”. Her tiny stature and 89 lb. frame made her indispensable for getting into tight places on the aircraft where others could not go.
She met her husband, Andy, on a blind date. Breaking the rules, she climbed out the window of the St. Paul House after hours to meet him when he got off the late shift. Sadly, Andy died in 1980, after thirty two years of marriage. They had two daughters, Ruth Ann and Anita (Libby), whom she loved and nurtured all of her life. She delighted in her first and only grandchild Courtney.
In addition to being a home maker, mother, and grandmother, she was a self-taught seamstress. For over 50 years, she worked at home, making beautiful clothes for her family and many others. Her creations included wedding gowns; dresses for bridesmaids, mothers of the bride and flower girls; outfits for competitive roller skaters; and even soft sculptures of African masks and costume pieces based on paintings for the education programs at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
• Friday January 29th, 2016: 12:30pm
