Lorinda Ann Gerber

Annie passed away on January 26, 2023 at her home. She battled colon, breast, skin, and stomach cancers for over 34 years. During those years, she endured multiple surgeries, chemo and radiation, infusions, and numerous, extended hospital stays. Her resilience and resolve to live alongside cancer were remarkable. She approached cancer and all that came with it, with grace, humor, spunk, stamina, and a nurse’s advocacy, skill, and curiosity. Cancer didn’t stop her, but rather motivated her to live every day to its fullest—always realistic and determined to take advantage of all that life has to offer. She succeeded and then some. Annie was proud of her Pacific Northwest roots. Her father owned and operated a farm in Kent, WA, and her mother descended from Hunts Point pioneers. Annie lived her entire life in Washington, with stops on Mercer Island, Lake Morton, Lake Meridian, and Lake Chelan before her final home in Entiat; a log home her husband, Jack, built by hand. That log home was a dream come true for Annie and a source of pride, comfort, and joy for her. Beautifully landscaped and designed, she appointed it with hand-picked, vintage cabin décor. Every day, she could be found soaking in the hot tub, enjoying a view of the river and mountains with her favorite drink, a vanilla latte. After her retirement from nursing in 2014 and during COVID, her home became a refuge for her. That love of the Pacific Northwest informed Annie’s enthusiastic embrace of nature, adventure, and recreation: skiing at Mission Ridge, swimming in Lake Chelan, yoga, hiking in the Entiat Valley, whitewater rafting the Wenatchee and Salmon Rivers, cycling, kayaking in the San Juans, skydiving, parasailing, and paddleboarding lakes and rivers. She summitted Mt Rainier. She completed the Danskin Triathlon just three weeks after her bi-lateral mastectomy—and was awarded a diamond necklace recognizing her as “Most Inspirational Triathlete.” Annie was always in motion. She and Jack and their three sons, Justin, Joshua and Jared, spent many, glorious vacations camping and exploring every inch of Washington State. Later, Jack and Annie discovered cruising, riding Harleys, and visiting the National Parks in the teardrop trailer that Jack built custom for her. Her persistence and focus appeared before her cancer diagnoses. As a young, single mother of a toddler and an infant, she returned to college to earn a registered nursing degree and create a secure life for them. She worked as a cardiac critical care and pediatric bone marrow transplant nurse at Swedish Hospital. She cared for many children and adults, including the opera singer Jose Carreras, when he underwent a bone marrow transplant. She went on to earn graduate degrees in counseling and nursing. Those degrees led to her work as director of Home Health and Hospice for Lake Chelan Community Hospital, school nurse in Auburn and Eastmont school districts, and leadership roles in professional associations. Annie made lifelong friends and her experiences with cancer made her a compassionate caregiver and advocate for those she served. She loved being a nurse. Her husband, Jack, never left her side, supported her emotionally and physically, and loved her completely and unconditionally for over 44 years. He absolutely adored her, and she absolutely adored him. Jack ensured that her every wish came true while never hesitating to say, “enough Annie.” As a mother of three boys, she knew when to step back and when to make her opinions known. She loved her boys and was committed to making a loving home for them. She respected their life decisions and welcomed their respective partners into the Gerber family. As a grandmother of five, she had the chance to enjoy, love, and support another generation. There was no resisting Annie; her energy, vitality, and spirit were infectious. “What’s next” and “let’s go” were part of her vocabulary and friends had better be ready. Friends emerged and flourished from all walks of life and interests: book group, rafting pals, teardrop trailer community, running partners, nurse colleagues, knitting circle, ski companions and more. Friends could always count on Annie to tell the truth and make you feel valued, understood, and not judged. Her natural empathy combined with her therapeutic training made her a valuable sounding board for family and friends. Her many, longtime friends will remember and cherish her incisive observations about life and relationships. She was and will continue to be an inspiration to her many friends and family and those with whom she shared her life and journey. As she faced her last days, she completed a 469-page memoir, beautifully bound and with photographs that reflected her favorite people and places. The last chapter was devoted to lessons learned that she hoped would provide a reminder of how to live fully—and without her. She loved Jack, her three boys, her grandchildren, and her brothers: Tommy and Pat. Her mother and father were always in her heart and guiding her. There will be a Celebration of her Life on Saturday, June 10, 2023. It will be held at the Entiat City Park, South Picnic Shelter, at 1:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing you. In addition, please post on her Prechtrose.com Tribute Wall where we will be excited to hear from everyone.

Tributes

Lorinda Ann Gerber

February 9, 1949 - January 26, 2023