Obituary of Anita Trudeau

Anita Trudeau, 56, a fused glass artist, died of liver cancer September 1st at her home in Oregon City. She was surrounded by her loving family at her death. Born November 19, 1953 in River Rouge, Michigan, Anita grew up in New York City and Venice, California before making her home in the Portland Area in 1989. Anita earned her living as a realtor, tax preparer and for the past 13 years was an office administrator and marketing assistant for WealthCounsel. An ardent feminist, she was involved in the National Organization for Women (NOW) for years and served as president of its Clackamas County chapter for one year. She was a Camp Fire leader for five years, emphasizing cultural and intellectual activities for her troop of young girls, which included her daughter Alyssa. Always socially and politically active (she held an elected position in The Peace and Freedom Party in the late70’s – early 80’s) she strongly believed in community activism; in the immediacy of local involvement. Acting on her belief in the inherent worth of all people, Anita most recently served as an advocate and mentor for inmates at the Coffee Creek Facility for Women. Anita cared deeply for the women she worked with and was especially drawn to help those who had been forgotten or abandoned by their families. A long-time, active member of the Atkinson Memorial Church in Oregon City, Anita said she was drawn to the Unitarian Universalist community because of its professed beliefs in equality and openness and its inclusiveness to all colors, races, creeds and sexual orientation. Her daughter Alyssa confirms, “She taught me tolerance and acceptance to all. She was always there for me, and also for her step-children and the children of friends. Mom always stepped up to the plate.” A love of travel and streak of adventurism featured strongly in Anita’s life. During the late 1970’s she lived in San Miguel de Allende, a Mexican city noted for its artists’ community. In 1979 she went to Puerto Rico for the Pan American games. She coursed through the games on her roller skates, selling T-shirts. In 1976 she took a cross country road trip with her boyfriend and 2 large dogs, which was one of the most memorable experiences of her life. Anita loved Hawaii – she was always drawn to beaches and the ocean. She said one of her great pleasures was “to soak up the sun and feel the waves rolling over her body.” Besides loving the beaches of California, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, Anita longed to explore the Greek Islands, Italy, and Cuba with her daughter, Alyssa. A polymath, Anita explored and developed expertise in various fields from gardening (which included raising chickens and beekeeping) to the physical sciences, especially astronomy and physics. She was an accomplished artist who worked in the fabric arts: silk screen, knitting and quilting. She developed as a ceramicist working at the Sophia Center in Portland but felt her best work was her latest work in fused glass art. Anita is survived by her daughter Alyssa Trudeau of Oregon City, her four sisters, Stephanie Trudeau of Brooklyn, NY, Jo Marianne Trudeau Burt of Bremerton, WA, Roberta Epifanio of Healdsburg, CA, and Zoralie Anderson of Portland, OR. Anita and her family request that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Anita Trudeau Fund established at the Atkinson Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church, 710 6th Street, Portland, OR 97045. Donations will support counseling and mentoring programs at the Coffee Creek Minimum Security Facility for Women. Or donations can also be made to Sacred Flight, a charitable program that provides palliative and prescriptive music to those nearing the end of life. Sacred Flight, P.O. Box 6866, Portland, OR 97228. A memorial will be held on October 10th at the Atkinson Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church, 710 6th Street, Portland, OR 97045 beginning at 2 PM.