Anita Pardini

Anita (Tonda) Pardini passed away on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at the age of 99 ½ years. Ninety-eight of those years she lived in Cle Elum. She suffered strokes in the past year and moved to a nursing home in Ellensburg in March 2015. Her passion for life and to return home was amazing, as she continued to do physical therapy and had the will to get stronger, but after some improvement she would suffer another setback. Even when her mind started slipping, she was aware of it. She had an amazing memory and quick wit. Each stroke took a different toll on her, but at almost every visit her family and friends were able to get her to laugh or tell a joke. She loved to laugh and it was infectious.

Anita was born on November 20th, 1916, the daughter of Morris and Filomena Tonda, immigrants from Torino, Italy. She graduated from Cle Elum High School in 1935. Anita and Steve Pardini were married in 1940. They were married for 44 years when Steve passed away in 1984 from a heart attack. She is survived by their two children, Rachele (married to Floyd Rogalski) and Robert (married to Jerri Crankovich). She has six grandchildren: Steve (Melissa), Lisa (Mike), Floyd, Tasha (Rick), Dana (BJ) and Scott (Judy). She has five great-grandchildren: Joe (April), Jennifer (Brandon), Mike (Renee), Kody, Lacy and Violet and also five great-great grandchildren: Aiden, Allison, Nathalie, Caden and Bostyn. She has extended family in Seattle, California and Italy. She was also preceded in death by her granddaughter, Allison Killian, and her brother, Aldo Tonda

Anita loved to crochet, play pinochle, listen to polka music and danced well into her nineties. She enjoyed caring for her houseplants and beautiful flowers, was an avid sports fan and loved to cook. Some of her family’s favorite meals were her polenta and chicken, risotto, and gnocchi. Salami and Italian cheeses were a staple in her refrigerator. She passed down these tastes to her children and grandchildren. She loved mushroom picking and going for rides, especially into the Teanaway Valley and to her family cabin. She supported her husband in three local businesses, the Electric Shoe Repair Shop, the Electra Motel, and Pardini’s Family Store . She was a member of the Eagles Lodge Auxiliary #649 for 66 years and a longtime member of the Centennial Center. A recent highlight in her life was being selected as Pioneer Days Queen in 2013.

Her request was to have her ashes spread in the Teanaway, as were her husband’s. Anita and Steve will be together again, hunting for mushrooms, enjoying the wildflowers and watching their children, grandchildren and the generations to come as they continue to carry on the family tradition of spending many days in the Teanaway Valley. We only hope we continue to make her laugh until the “tears run down her leg.” (One of her many jokes.) Anita was loved by many and will live in the hearts of her family and friends.