Anne was born October 29, 1935 to Robert and Ruth (Woodin) Lemcke. Anne grew up on an apple and pear orchard on Pletke Road in Tieton, WA. She enjoyed life on the ranch and time spent in the orchard and exploring the surrounding rock buttes. Anne graduated from Highland High School in 1954. She had a passion for art and she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Central Washington University. Her art ranged from realistic landscapes to both intense tributes and peaceful abstracts. She raised her family, two sons and two daughters, on the family farm with her former husband, Jerry Gillespie, before striking out to develop her independent spirit. She spent time living in Hawaii, the Puget Sound area, Port Townsend, and Grayland making friends and creating art before settling back in Yakima near family and long-time friends. Anne was an avid reader, and a free spirit with a passion for painting and expressing herself authentically through art. She taught art classes throughout her life, most recently with friends at Fieldstone Assisted living, where she was a resident for a short time before moving to her own condo. Her artwork has been featured in galleries around Washington and her creative talent always filled her home and those of friends and relatives. She was a progressive activist and concerned citizen at heart and she shared her political views and insights to help improve our community. Her ideas were expansive, inclusive of all people, and she was often with small groups of people she shared her ideas with.
Anne Lemcke was preceded in death by her parents; her daughter, Jo Gillespie; her brother, Bob Lemcke (Sandy); and her sister, Donna Dueker (Ken). She is survived by her two sons, Greg Gillespie (Kristin) of Ventura, CA and Jeff Gillespie (Laura) of Naches, her daughter Jill Billups (Patrick) of Yakima, and her sister Lynn Radosevich (Steve) of Corvallis, OR. In addition, Anne is survived by ten grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and numerous other relatives.
A celebration of life service will be held in the dining hall of Fieldstone Orchardwest, 4130 Englewood Ave., Yakima, WA, at 2:00 pm on Saturday, November 11, 2017. The family would like to thank friends at Fieldstone and the community for their support to Anne recently and over many, many years.
To share a memory of Anne, please visit www.keithandkeith.com
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