Loretta was born in Miami, Florida on June 11, 1938, as Loretta Louise Thigpen.
When Loretta was very young, she moved with her parents to Phoenix City, Alabama where her dad worked as a car salesman, and they lived with her grandma and grandpa. Loretta was very close to her grandma and grandpa, and she loved their big house that had a huge wrap around porch. Loretta's dad passed away not long after moving back to Phoenix City. She and her mom then moved into a very small house just down the street from her grandparents. They lived there for several years while her mom worked in a parachute factory. Loretta became very close with her Aunt Effie (her mom's sister) as her aunt watched her during the day while her mom worked. Her mom met Loretta's future stepfather while working at the parachute factory and remarried. Loretta just adored her new stepfather and began calling him "dad" in less than a year. The family moved to Twin Falls, Idaho after her stepdad was transferred there as an army recruiter. Loretta attended school in Twin Falls through the 8th grade, before moving yet again, this time to Spokane, Washington.
Upon moving to Spokane, the three of them lived in army housing at Fairchild Air Force Base. Her stepdad saved up and they were able to buy a house on Normandy street in north Spokane. Loretta loved that little brick house, and she had the whole upstairs to herself. Loretta attended Lewis and Clark High School until she graduated. Living on the North side of Spokane, she was out of the school district, so she had to find her own way to school, taking public transportation into downtown Spokane, transferring to another bus that got her "close" to the school, then walking 8 - 10 blocks to school. She did this for 4 years, in all kinds of weather. She said it was worth it to be with her friends.
At Lewis and Clark High School, Loretta was active in the drama group. She liked acting very much, though she (true to her humble nature) didn't think she was very good. During her junior year of high school, Loretta was heartbroken when her stepdad suddenly passed away from a heart attack. After he passed away, her mom then got work at the Spokane Hotel and sold snacks and magazines, just to get some money coming in. Loretta and her mom moved just a block away from the Normandy house to an even smaller house on Atlantic street. Her mom did some work at Fairchild Airforce Base to make ends meet.
After graduating in June of 1956, Loretta got her first job at a small office supply store, selling paper, typewriters, pens, pencils, etc. She only worked there for a couple of weeks. She absolutely hated it! Her friend then told her the local bank not far from the supply store was hiring a teller and her friend put in a good word for her. Loretta got the job as a teller at the bank. She enjoyed that job very much and worked hard at it for quite some time. During this time, she came across a fella by the name of Marv Anderson. Loretta met Marv (her husband of 59 years) on a blind date on Memorial Day weekend in 1959. The first blind double date they went on was out to State Line Idaho for a night of dancing. On their date, he asked if she liked to fish and she said, ‘oh yeah, fishing’s fun!’ (to impress him). … so, following the first date he took her out on a boat to Badger Lake in the mid-afternoon and around midnight she really thought they’d be through fishing, but they were still on the lake! She couldn’t believe ‘that man’ kept her in the boat that long! However, they continued dating through the summer and on October 19th, Marv gave Loretta her ring at a surprise dinner party, and they were engaged. They were going to get married the next June, but since he was in his first year of teaching at Olympic High School in Seattle, Marv wanted them to get married over his next break (Christmas)! So, on December 26, 1959, they were married at North Hill Christian Church in Spokane, then moved to Burien, Washington and soon after that to Des Moines, Washington, where their first child (Mardell) was born. When their daughter was 9 months old, they went back to Spokane so Marv could attend summer school. He was excited to get contacted by School District 81 with an offer to teach at Shadle Park High School. They immediately started looking at homes and moved back to Spokane for good, making a cozy home in a little house on Milton street.
Then sons Steve and Dave came along completing the family. Loretta was a wonderful stay-at-home mom. She tended to all of the family's needs from housekeeping, preparing dinners, and to soothing boo-boos. Looking back, she was so gracious as we kids weren't as appreciative of all her hard work as we could have been but came to appreciate it as we grew older. [Thanks Mom!] Loretta began working at Spokane Falls Community College in the enrollment office for night classes. She loved that job and the gals she worked with. She was an outstanding employee and was still able to juggle home, family, and church life while she worked. She was truly amazing. She worked at that job for over 20 years and was the only employee working in her department to ever get a plaque of appreciation for all her hard work.
Marv and Loretta attended Zion Church for over 4 decades. They were elders in the church, and the church and its members were a key part of their lives. Loretta really enjoyed helping Marv lead the senior group at Zion. They dedicated thousands of hours to the church they loved so dearly.
In 1978, the family moved from the Milton home to a housing development called Northwest Terrace. There Loretta and Marv resided until they could no longer manage the home due to health issues. They moved to a very nice retirement community in Gig Harbor, WA for a while, but mom always longed for Spokane and her very dear friends. Marv wanted Loretta to feel happy and secure, so they moved back to Spokane to complete their lives. Loretta and Marv were married for 59 years. Marv had a lot of ups and downs, and Loretta was able to always roll with it. She knew him so well and they loved one another dearly and deeply. Marv passed away in 2018, leaving Loretta heartbroken.
After her beloved husband passed away, Loretta clung to her dearest and closest friend, Julie Frey. They were best friends for over 40 years! The family supported Loretta as much as possible and loved her very much.
Loretta touched so many lives in such extraordinary ways. She was a great, thoughtful, kind, unassuming woman who had so many good and vibrant memories of her days growing up, as well as what her children had accomplished and were doing on a day-to-day basis. Living alone, through TV and word-of-mouth, she consistently kept herself up-to-date on current events and was always a pleasure to talk with about these topics. Not surprisingly, she would even educate others on current events and was a very attentive conversationalist. She was a deep thinker and expressed her insights well. Chats with her flowed so easily and her humor was stellar. She and her best friend Julie had so many great laughs, "like a couple of schoolgirls" (as she put it). Lorretta's clarity of mind was so evident that it was like speaking with someone 20 years younger than she was.
Loretta was so vibrant and alive at her final Christmas in 2023. She spent Christmas with Dave and his soulmate Fay. She received many wonderful gifts from her loved ones and was delighted to receive calls from her grandchildren Cameron and Mikayla. She ate Christmas dinner like it was going out of style! She loved the company when people visited and loved to get mail and phone calls...and little gifts, "just because".
Loretta fell ill in early January of 2024 and never recovered. She had flu-like symptoms that progressed into a debilitating shortness of breath. She had been housed at Arbor Rose Care Facility in Spokane for nearly 10 months. Prior to this illness, it appeared mom was cared for satisfactorily during her time at Arbor Rose. Her physical condition worsened, and on February 6th she was taken to the doctor, and the doctor referred her to the hospital. At that time, tests indicated there was nothing more they could do for Loretta, except to make her comfortable. As soon as she was admitted to the hospital, a constant vigil was kept with mom by her family and Fay (whom she'd grown to view as a daughter over the 14 years of their friendship). Her "bestie" Julie and Julie's husband Ray were on vacation in Hawaii and kept in near constant contact, checking on and praying for Loretta. A very dear friend, John MacPherson, visited with her and chatted and read the Bible to her which meant so very much to her.
Loretta knew that she would not recover from her condition, and so she told the family that she was choosing to be with her Lord, her Lord that she had served so faithfully for so many years. When she told the family "I want to go home" (to be with the Lord), the peace on her face was a beautiful thing to behold. She spoke of going home to be with her husband, her mom, her nana, her brother, and others she so dearly missed. Loretta passed away the morning of February 11th, 2024, at Sacred Heart Medical Center after having said her farewells to several loved ones in person and over the phone.
Loretta is survived by her children, Mardell (husband, Dan), Steve, Dave, and five beautiful grandchildren (Ryan, Kirsten, Mikayla, Cameron, and Garrett).
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened" - Dr. Seuss
"The pain of a hard good-bye is the heart's tribute to the privilege of love" - Beth Moore
A visitation for Loretta will be held Saturday, March 2, 2024 from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM at Ball & Dodd Funeral Home, 5100 West Wellesley Ave, Spokane, WA 99205.
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