Anita J. Griffin

Anita Joni Griffin, our beloved sister and mother, peacefully went to the Lord on December 3, 2011, with her family by her side in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a long illness that she endured with great patience, extraordinary courage, incredible strength and her signature sense of humor which we will miss most of all.

Born in San Francisco on October 20th, 1934, Anita grew up in Firth and Blackfoot, Idaho. Early on she acquired a taste for show business, as the assistant of her father's traveling magic show known as "Dr. Regor & Atina & The Great London Ghost Show". Being infinitely bitten by the show biz bug and blessed with a great deal of talent, Anita eventually left home at 18 to pursue a career as a singer. But she didn't stop there and eventually excelled as a model, dancer and comedian, as well. She extensively toured the country as a performer and in the course of time she settled in Hawaii before it actually became a U.S. state in 1959. Hawaii became her favorite place and she was fortunate to not only work with such icons as Lionel Hampton and Liberace but to as well become friends with them. Lionel Hampton and his band accompanied her in the show and Liberace, Anita always said, was one of the nicest entertainers she had ever met. Returning back to the mainland, she continued performing in Los Angeles and again was fortunate to sing with such stars as Louis Armstrong, Betty Grable and Harry James. While living in Tinseltown and following in her father's footsteps, she tried her hands at the movies but quickly found that it wasn't for her. After retiring from performing, Anita eventually settled in Los Angeles for good. She married Bob Watkins and had her son, Kevin. In time, she succeeded as an entrepreneur and owned and managed two very successful clubs in Los Angeles.

Anita was a passionate sports aficionado (baseball, football , tennis) and would have made a wonderful sportscaster. She was just a bit ahead of her time as it was impossible in the 1950's for a woman to break into the male dominated field of sportscasting.

She was extremely fascinated by history in general but particularly intrigued and engrossed by the history of the American Civil War. Her interest and her passion were so vivid, Anita always felt that she might have lived through the 19th century in a previous life.

Later in life, Anita became an impassioned animal activist and her love and compassion for animals, especially cats, was well known among all the strays in the neighborhood that she would take in until they could find a home. She was just amazing with animals and would rather go hungry so she could feed her beloved pets, Taz, Diamond and Fragles.

Anita lived with her mother for 12 years in Las Vegas and eventually became her dedicated and loving caregiver until she passed away in February of 2009.

She is now reunited with her beloved parents, Roger and Arletta Fenner and her younger brother Ron who passed away in 2006. Left to cherish her beautiful memory are her son, Kevin Watkins of Las Vegas, her brother Wiley and wife Archie of Omaha, Nebraska, her sister Miriam and husband Tom of Las Vegas, her youngest sister, Marsha of Las Vegas, her sister-in-law, June Fenner of Las Vegas, one granddaughter, two great grandchildren and all her nieces and nephews.

She was so loved.... we will miss her everyday.

Services will be held at Palm Mortuary 1600 South Jones Blvd. on December 17th, 2011 at 3pm.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm South Jones Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.