"Ms. Anita" Kempton

Anita Kempton, beloved daughter, sister, wife, sister-in-law, mother, aunt, mother-in-law, nanny, and friend – an incredible woman who loved and lived her life with joy and passion; Anita Maria (Sir) Kempton, 80 years old, of Cocoa, Florida, quietly left us to enter God’s Kingdom early Monday morning on December 11, 2023, at her home, due to natural causes.

Ms. Anita, as she was known by many, was born during World War II on October 22, 1943, in Schönborn, Germany to the late Josef Sir and Anna (Weigend) Sir. She was the oldest of three children and sadly outlived her siblings, Peter Sir and Sonja (Sir) Williams. Towards the end of the war, when she was around 2 years old, her family was forced to flee on foot from their home to escape the Russians, and they ended up seeking refuge with Ms. Anita’s grandmother (oma) in a small village in East Germany named Breitau. Her family decided to move on to a larger city, but Ms. Anita chose to stay with her oma instead. Life was happy being raised by her oma and growing up in Breitau; however, when she was 17 years old, Ms. Anita’s life forever changed when she met her Captain America…well, actually, U.S. Army Private William “Bill” Harold Kempton (deceased 2/05/2000). They fell madly in love, and on the 1st day of March 1963, they wed and shared their lives, together, spanning nearly 40 years. Two months after their wedding, on May 10, 1963, in a small German hospital in Eschwege, they welcomed the birth of their first child, a bouncing baby boy who they named William Harold Kempton, Jr. Several months later, Ms. Anita packed her bags and headed across the pond with her husband and newborn son to begin a new life in America. Fast forward three years, the little family is now living at the U.S. Army post of Redstone Arsenal located in Huntsville, Alabama. On the afternoon of June 28, 1966, the stork made a special delivery, the couple’s second child, a feisty little boy that they named Kevin Robert Kempton (who sadly passed 5/31/2020). Four years later in October 1970, we find the happy little family back in Germany, and Ms. Anita’s 27th birthday is fast approaching. Bill decides to surprise his lovely wife with a weekend trip, for just the two of them, to Oberammergau in Bavaria to celebrate. Little did they know at the time that they would be receiving a souvenir 9 months later…back in America at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Army base in Maryland, they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Corina Ann (Kempton-Christensen) Hyvarinen on July 20, 1971.

As the family thrived, Bill’s military career kept them on the move and they lived in several locations throughout the U.S. including Omaha, Nebraska, Orlando, Florida, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (briefly with Bill’s late parents William Robert Kempton and Barbara (Higgie) Kempton), El Paso, Texas, and in 1981, they settled in Merritt Island, Florida, until 2000. With the death of her beloved husband, Ms. Anita moved in with her daughter in Cocoa, Florida, until she passed. In addition to all the many places she lived, Ms. Anita’s career life was just as varied (like her many hairstyles throughout the years). Her first job consisted of her helping her oma in the fields of Breitau harvesting various vegetables and grains. She also worked in a factory making hosiery and at a deli in Sontra, Germany. Once she moved to America, her jobs included selling fur coats at a high-end department store in Omaha, working as a clerk at 7-11 convenience stores in Orlando and El Paso, and becoming a convenience store manager for Jiffy Food stores throughout Brevard County, Florida. Then, in the late 1980’s, she was hired as the school crossing guard for the corner of Courtenay Parkway and Cone Road on Merritt Island. She truly enjoyed assisting the children who attended Tropical Elementary School and the teenagers that attended Jefferson Jr. High School, and every Friday she would treat them with lollipops. Ms. Anita relished working with children, and she was able to make more of a direct impact when, one day, while at her post, she was approached by a couple asking her if she would be interested in being a nanny for their newborn son. She accepted, and this was the beginning of the most rewarding career in her lifetime. She resigned from school crossing and over the next 15 years, until she retired at the age of 67, she became the “On Call Nanny,” which allowed her to provide childcare, and to be an adoptive grandmother, to over 20 children, especially since she had no grandchildren of her own. She loved making a difference in the lives of her adoptive grandchildren, and it brought her much joy when they kept in touch with her throughout the years.

Ms. Anita was indeed an incredible woman who loved and lived her life with joy and passion. She may no longer be with us, but she leaves behind a legacy full of love, strength, generosity, and integrity. Her devotion to her friends and family, including her beloved fur-baby, Hopey, was truly a gift, and the love she gave will never be forgotten.

We invite you to celebrate her beautiful life with us on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, at Wylie-Baxley Funeral Home, 1360 North Courtenay Parkway, Merritt Island, FL 32923, with a visitation gathering occurring from 5:00PM - 6:00PM, and her memorial service at 6:00PM.