Erma Annis' Obituary
Erma (Beck) Annis was born June 6, 1925 in Chicago Illinois to Katie (Meissner) Beck. Erma graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington in 1944. During her time in high school, Erma met Marvin Annis while working at the sawmill. Marv sent Erma to fetch him a board stretcher, and soon after they were officially high school sweethearts. After graduating, Erma and Marv were married and started a family with the birth of their first daughter, Theresa in 1946. Cathy was born a year later. The small family was finally complete with the arrival of Tom in 1953.
They leased Park Avenue Service during the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, Erma worked alongside Marv at the station, raised the children and filled the role of perfect housewife. Erma doted upon Marv, kept an immaculate household, a beautiful park-like yard, and was a gracious hostess to friends and family alike. Marv and Erma bought a gas station on 48th and Yakima near their home which they called “Marv’s Arco”. Marv and Erma worked hard together and the business flourished. Erma enjoyed going out to the Bavarian with Marv and dancing while listening to Gary and the Happy Bachelors. They joined the Trailcruisers and spent many weekends down at the property in Capital Forest, where Marv taught all of the grandchildren to ride motorcycle. Erma was the starter during the annual Smuggler Poker Run.
The Annis family welcomed several grandchildren and great-grandchildren to their blossoming family. Erma was a wonderful mother, wife, sister, grandmother and great grand-mother. She loved to dance, bake, garden, play cards and Thursday shopping trips with the “Thursday Girls”. Erma loved the holidays and always had her house decorated beautifully, a huge family dinner, and her world famous Christmas cookies which she started baking weeks before the holidays. In 1997, after 52 wonderful years of marriage, Marv passed away. Erma joined Marv, her daughter Cathy, and mother in heaven on September 30, 2015. Erma is survived by her sister Geraldine, daughter Teri, son Tom, many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and her pal Toni, with whom she shared a lifelong friendship.
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