Anna Schwarz

In His wisdom and mercy, God called Anna Schwarz home to himself on October 11, 2022 at the age of 86. Anna Marguerite Simantel was born in Hillsboro, Oregon on November 20, 1935 to Edwin and Amelia Moeller Simantel and grew up on the family farm north of Hillsboro. She attended Zion Lutheran School and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1953. After graduation, she enrolled in Emanuel Hospital School of Nursing in Portland, graduating as an RN in 1956. She worked at a hospital in Honolulu for 6 months and then returned to work at Emanuel Hospital in Portland. Through her brother Marcus, she met Lawrence Schwarz of Eden, who was a student at Concordia College in Portland. They were engaged on July 4, 1958 and married on October 19, 1958 in Forest Grove, Oregon. In 1960, Larry and Anna moved to Idaho and began farming near Hazelton. It was here that they raised their 4 children, Julie, Todd, Douglas and Brett. After her children were grown, Anna returned to the workforce as a Medical Transcriptionist at Twin Falls Clinic and Hospital for 15 years. After her retirement in 2003, Anna began to volunteer as a receptionist, first at the Clinic and then at St. Luke’s. She was part of Volunteer Services until retiring at the age of 85 after logging in over 4000 hours, including serving on the St. Luke’s Auxiliary Board. Anna’s supervisor commented on her reliability. Anna enjoyed working with the other volunteers and shopping in the gift shop on breaks. Anna was baptized into the Body of Christ on December 15, 1935 at Zion Lutheran Church in Hillsboro where she was confirmed in the Lutheran faith on May 15, 1949. As a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Eden, she served as organist for over 50 years. She also served her Lord as a Weekday school teacher and Vacation Bible School Director. If there was a church event, Larry and Anna were there and doing what they could to help. One particular area of service she enjoyed was being part of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and performing leadership roles in her society at Eden and also on the Zone and District levels. As a “professional volunteer” Anna served on the governing board of Good Shepherd Lutheran Home of the West. She and Larry volunteered together for many years at the Helping Hands Thrift Store in Hazelton as well. Before moving to Twin Falls in 2020, they enjoyed meeting up with friends for lunch at the Silver and Gold Senior Center in Eden. Anna contributed beauty to her part of the world through caring for and decorating her home for the various holidays and growing and arranging flowers. She was a creative seamstress and, of course, played beautiful music. Other hobbies included reading and puzzles. Anna suffered the sudden stroke that took her life on October 6. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Larry, of Twin Falls; her children Julie Bedard of Beaverton, OR, Todd (Shaun) and Doug (Kay) Schwarz of Twin Falls and Brett (Sara) Schwarz of Boise. She was a proud and loving grandmother of Jana, Brock (Kristin) and Micah (Mary) Bedard, Caleb Schwarz, Keri (Calvin) Green, Andrew Schwarz and Myale and Devyn Schwarz. She had one great-grandchild, Miles Bedard. Anna was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her siblings Marcus (Mari) Simantel, of Seaside, Oregon, Janet Casmier and Cheryl (Jim) Mathis of Vancouver, WA, Katherine Bergstrom of Tukwila, WA and Ralph (Kathy) Simantel of Hillsboro, OR. She was loved by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins who mourn her loss. A funeral service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church of Eden on Saturday, October 22, at 11 a.m. Memorials may be made to Lutheran Hour Ministries (lhm.org) or Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (lwml.org).