Anna Germaine Nothdurft

Anna Germaine Nothdurft, was born on April 2, 1961 in San Diego, California to Don and Elvira Nothdurft; she was the 5th of 8 children. She went to Madison High School and graduated in 1979. Following high school, she attended Mount Saint Mary’s University and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She was then hired by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she dedicated more than 30 years to excellence in patient care.

The Easter Bunny brought us Anna, or at least that is what her siblings said, since she was born on Easter Sunday. She was a beautiful baby with big eyes and an infectious smile.

As she grew up it became apparent Anna was a perfectionist and was skillful in many areas. At Hale Jr. High she won an award for being an outstanding seamstress and later went on to sew her sister’s wedding dress. She learned to swim in the Backyard Swim Program and later joined the Madison High School Swim Team. This led to one of her first jobs – working as a Pearl Diver at Sea World.

When she moved to Los Angeles for college, Anna found her forever home, eventually buying a condo in West Hollywood. She was proud of her community. She appreciated its cleanliness, attractiveness and the small stores where she could shop or get her shoes fixed. Anna loved West Hollywood’s accepting attitude toward people – those of different colors, ethnicities and sexual orientations, among others.

Anna loved and lived with three pets in her lifetime: her first cat, Ashley; a golden retriever named Jake; and her current bereaved cat, Nicolette, who now resides with her sister.

Anna was fun loving and believed in living life to the fullest. In her earlier years she liked to jet around in her Miata, and enjoyed the outdoors, swimming and sailing. She liked to travel and enjoyed Hawaii, France, Italy and Greece. She liked people watching at The Grove, and meeting friends at The Abbey. Anna was interested in the world and her community. She especially loved reading The New York Times.

When Anna was only a year old, she broke her leg and had to stay in the hospital for weeks in traction. Maybe this inspired her to choose a career in nursing. In 1983 Anna graduated from Mount St. Mary’s College and began her career at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.

The early 80’s was also the start of the AIDS crisis – an especially difficult time for both healthcare workers and those living in Anna’s West Hollywood community. She nursed AIDS patients when many people were afraid to. Anna was extremely compassionate toward AIDS patients and seeing all of their suffering had a profound effect on her.

Anna spent her time in nursing doing physically difficult and emotionally exhausting jobs. At Cedars she spent the majority of her time in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and the Emergency Room (ER). Eventually she moved into Radiology Recovery and then Interventional Radiology (IR), a new department that was just starting out. Her skills and dedication were valued by the doctors, patients, and the new nurses she mentored. After her career at Cedars, Anna worked at Dr. Dale Prokupek’s private medical office and made new friends there. Anna learned a lot about technology and was always grateful for the opportunity.

Anna always had health problems, but usually did not complain about them. Things were especially bad the last five years of her life. She struggled with residual pain from a broken foot and ankle, chronic back pain, difficulty with balance and a myriad of other physical limitations. In 2019 she had a brain aneurysm. Doctors and nurses at Cedars, some of whom she had worked with before, saved her life. We, her family, will always be grateful for the “bonus years”.

Anna remained aware, vibrant and alive throughout all of her physical challenges. She would not consider moving from her home or giving up her independence. She lived alone and secured modifications or the help that she needed. One such helper was Maribel, her housekeeper/friend. Another was her sister Becky, the sister she was closest to in age and her partner-in-crime from the beginning. It was unusual for a day to pass without the two of them talking throughout their entire lives.

Becky puts it best: “Anna was a really funny, smart, good person. She made her own choices,…and was always herself.”

Anna is predeceased by her brother Charles Michael Nothdurft. She is survived by her parents, Don and Elvira Nothdurft, her siblings, Paula Eberle, Mary Kober (David), Don Nothdurft Jr, Gerard (Tony) Nothdurft (Diana), Rebecca Decker (Harold), and John Nothdurft (Sunisa), her sister in law Hilda Nothdurft, her nieces and nephews, Dale Eberle, Jeana Cashin (Mike), Dustin Kober, Derek Kober, Monica Nothdurft, Kimberly Nothdurft, Angela Fasching, Danny Aguilar (Trish), Laura Anne Nothdurft, Samantha Nothdurft, Molly Decker, Madison Decker, Benjamin Nothdurft, Charlie Nothdurft Jr., John Nothdurft II, Antonia Nothdurft, Nathan Nothdurft, and Christopher Nothdurft, and her great nieces and nephews, Allison Eberle, Audrey Eberle, Abby Eberle, Michael Cashin, Rueben Aguilar, Danielle Aguilar, Ryan Aguilar, Hailey Sanchez, and Christian Sanchez.

Anna’s wishes were to be cremated and her ashes scattered at sea. In accordance with her wishes, a private family viewing has been elected.

In lieu of flowers the family has requested donations to Hollywood Food Coalition or American Red Cross.

https://hofoco.networkforgood.com/projects/80033-help-feed-the-homeless-and-hungry-in-hollywood

https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sorrentovalleychapel.com for the Nothdurft family.