Anita D. Lieser

Anita Dorothy (Saussele) Lieser, 93 of Kirkwood passed away on September 23, 2016. Beloved wife of the late Arthur Lieser, loving mother of David (Julia Choy) Lieser, Dorothy (Dave) Jones, and Diane Lieser, dear grandmother of Matthew Jones and Timothy (Lindsey) Jones, dearest cousin of Flora Bild, daughter of Richard and Hertha (nee Huss) Saussele.

Anita grew up in the Shaw neighborhood in South Saint Louis. During her first six years, she lived above the family bakery at Thurman and Shaw. She spent many hours at Shaw’s Garden and Tower Grove Park. During the Great Depression, she and her mother lived in the same flat as her grandmother, grandfather, and cousin, Flora. Anita graduated from Roosevelt High School and Harris-Stowe Teacher's College. She taught at Horace Mann Elementary School and earned a Masters in Music Education from Northwestern University.

Anita married Arthur the day after Christmas in 1956 at Tyler Place Presbyterian Church and then devoted her efforts to raising three children and teaching piano. Anita served as church organist for more than 60 years, notably at Curby Memorial Presbyterian Church, Tyler Place Presbyterian Church, Eden UCC, and Watson Terrace Christian Church.

Anita and Arthur (cellist) enjoyed playing chamber music together, taking nature walks, and presenting beautiful slideshows to garden clubs. They were active in the Webster Groves Nature Study Society, various classical music groups, and the St. Louis Astronomical Society. She was a member of the American Guild of Organists. She frequented programs by the St. Louis Philharmonic, Compton Heights Concert Band, St. Louis Metropolitan Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Bach at the Sem, Opera Theatre, Winter Opera and the Muny.

Throughout her life, Anita was an avid learner and had a keen interest in a variety of topics. She loved to travel from her 1929 and 1950 trips to California to trips to the Canadian Rockies, the Pacific Northwest, visits to her dear friends in New Mexico, trips to Banff, Jasper, the Snake River, Hell’s Canyon, and the National Parks including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Olympic, Craters of the Moon, Glacier, Carlsbad Caverns, Acadia, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Bryce, Zion, and The Great Smokey Mountains. She traveled to Germany, Austria, France, Norway, Toronto, Switzerland, England, Iceland, and the Netherlands with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra (as a chaperone), Compton Heights Band’s Opera tour group, and Northwestern University alumni.

Most memorable were yearly trips to the Minnesota, and later Ontario, lake country; the Pacific Northwest, West Coast, and the Southwestern United States. Arthur convinced her to “rough it” with outhouses and beautiful log cabins in the remote Canadian wilderness. The fresh pine air, the Northern Lights, Lake Trout, blueberry picking, a sauna, and the haunting calls of loons made it a magical experience. But, she recently remarked the trips she would like to repeat were to the Canadian Rockies and California Coast, her favorite.

When asked about advice, she said that one should “go with the flow… life doesn’t work out the way we plan it.” She said that no place is perfect, but that it is a privilege to move through it all. She said that kindness is one of the most important things in life — kindness to each other. She was truly a blessing to all of us and the kindest person in the world. We will miss her so much.

Services: The visitation is at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 1, 2016, at Watson Terrace Christian Church, 4205 Watson Rd, St Louis, MO 63109, followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m. Interment is in Mt. Hope Cemetery. In memory of Anita, contributions are encouraged to the Compton Heights Concert Band, the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra, Webster Groves Nature Study Society, and AGO St. Louis Chapter. Family and friends are invited to celebrate her life at www.anitalieser.life.