Sita Haapanen

Sita Haapanen, 92, of Lincoln, CA, passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 6th. She was born on November 4th, 1928 in La Linea de la Concepcion (Cadiz, Spain) to Lalshan Nanwani (from India) and Ana Mata (from Spain).

Her childhood and youth were spent between La Linea (Spain) and Tangiers (Morocco). Throughout her life she was very close to her brother, Jesus Shamdas. They were both raised and exposed to the best values of western and eastern cultures, developing strong bonds with both sides of the family.

Sita worked for the Red Cross while living in Kenitra (Morocco) where she met Arvo Haapanen, her beloved late husband. In 1964 she and Arvo moved to California where she worked for the Employment Development Department (EDD) in San Jose until her retirement in 1989.

In her healthier years, she had been an avid international traveler and spoke fluent Spanish and French in addition to English. She also loved cooking, dancing and listening to music.

Later in her life, she met Kurt Niwergall, her best friend and companion whom she loved dearly. They spent many happy times dancing at Swiss Park in Newark.

Sita will always be remembered for her tenacity, strong will to overcome adversity and living life to its fullest.

She is survived by her nephew, Glenn Shamdas (Ann), niece (Mari Lourdes Shamdas) and great nieces (Jessica and Alicia Shamdas) of Fargo, ND. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother, husband Arvo and very special friend Kurt.

In lieu of flowers the family wishes memorials to be directed to the American Heart Association.

The family would like to express their most sincere gratitude to those who helped take care of Sita in the last few years of her life (good friend Rosie and caregivers, Jennifer and Veronica). There will be a private family gathering at a later date.