Annita Mable (Smith) Noah

Annita was born in Boise, Idaho on December 16th, 1937 to Mable Grace Rodda and Maurice Duncan at home on the kitchen table, and was the youngest of three children. She attended Boise High School and graduated with the Class of 1956, after which she attended the Boise Secretarial Center where she learned shorthand and typing. She entered the workforce as a secretary for the Blue Cross earning $175 a month.

She met her first husband, Raymond “Ray” Vaughn Gifford in October 1959. After dating for two months, they spent Christmas day with family, and on the icy drive home, with Christmas songs blaring over the radio, decided to elope to Winnemucca, Nevada.

Together they had three children, though their second child, Kelly David Gifford, sadly passed away while still an infant. The family remained in Boise for a time, before moving to Lebanon, Oregon, and eventually Salem, where Anita began working as a clerk typist for the Oregon State Department of Transportation in 1968. Together they enjoyed camping trips with family and the Open Road Camping Club. Despite good times, the marriage ended in 1978.

She met her second husband, Lewis “Red” Leonard Noah at the local diner, The Keg & Platter. Almost a year later, they were married in Olympia, Washington on November 11th, 1979. They chose Veterans’ Day because they were both veterans of the “marriage wars.” They lived in the New England apartments on Devoe Street in Olympia, not far from the bowling alley, before purchasing a home on White Fir Drive in Lacey in 1980, where the spent their days together with cats, dogs, geese, and chickens at various times. Annita worked for the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for 23 years before retiring in 2003. Her and Red were married for nearly 30 years before he passed away in 2009.

Following her retirement, she became active in community organizations such as the Olympia Garden Club, British Friends, Rainier Stampeders Bowling League, and dining and game groups. She often entered flower arrangements into the Thurston County Fair and won quite a few awards over the years. She frequently took classes in art and creative writing, which in turn led to her interest in family history. She was also a Seahawks fan, and would wear her team scarf every winter.

Over her lifetime, she attended several different churches and was eventually baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2016 by her son, Terry.

She often took bus excursions with other retired friends and former co-workers to Mt. Angel, Leavenworth, the tulip fields of Mt. Vernon, and the kite festival in Long Beach, Washington. In recent years, she realized the dream of traveling farther afield with her daughter Deanna to Hawaii, New York City, Victoria British Columbia, and Las Vegas.

She lived a full life with many close friends.

Annita is preceded in death by her father, Maurice Duncan Smith; mother, Mable Grace Rodda; sister, Evelyn Smith McFarland; brother, Richard Maurice Smith; son, Kelly David Gifford; and husband, Lewis Leonard Smith.

Annita is survived by her daughter, Deanna Marie Gifford; her son, Terry Dale Gifford (Wendy);

granddaughter, Melanie Anne Pulsipher (Scottie); and grandson, Benjamin Scott Eggleston.

Funeral services and interment were held on Friday, March 11th, 2022 at Mills & Mills Funeral Home and Memorial Park, in Tumwater, Washington.