I have sixty eight years worth of memories of my sister Anita. I can't remember a time she wasn't there for me. We had very long phone conversations mostly about something I needed advice on. She wasn't one to suggest what I should do, she would just flat out say "Do it this way". For the past several years I haven't been able to have those conversations and really miss talking with her. After my husband died in 1989 Anita and I would go to Ocean City frequently since two of her children lived close by. We always stayed in the best hotels and would have a lot of fun together. We didn't care if it was summer or winter we went whenever we wanted to. We spent a lot of time laughing.
Soon after I was married Anita asked my husband Buzz and I to come and stay at her house to care for her children while she went on a trip. That sounded great to us since at that time we were living with my parents (Luis and Anne). One of the nights Buzz and I invited another couple over to play cards. During the evening one of them put a cigarette burn on a very nice cobblers bench she had. We panicked. Not wanting her to find out, we took it and had it refinished. It was back to being perfect to the tune of forty dollars. That was a lot of money to us in 1959. The day she came back her and I were sitting at her dining table and she accidently burned it with her cigarette. I said "Oh no! Look at your pretty table!" She said "That's not a problem, I can just rub it lightly with steel wool and it will look fine" She got the steel wool and fixed it in about thirty seconds. I had to come clean about her cobblers bench. Of course she laughed and laughed and then she laughed some more. I miss my sister, the best friend I've ever had. But I have years of memories to comfort me.
Chichi
Elizabeth Anne Garrison
On July 9, 1929 the second child of Luis and Anne Granados was born in Riverdale, Maryland. They named her Elizabeth Anne after her aunt, but she was nicknamed "Anita" by her Spanish father.Anita attended Holy Redeemer School in Berwyn Heights and St. Cecelia's High School in Washington, DC. In 1947 she married Preston Garrison, a Navy veteran and fire-fighter for the District of Columbia. They settled in Greenbelt and had three children - Richard Preston, Kathleen Marie and Michael Joseph. Sadly, in 1955 Preston was killed in the line of duty, leaving Anita a young widow. Shortly after his death, she moved her family back to Riverdale to a newly constructed home. It was in this home she spent most of her life, raised her children as a single parent, and remained for more than forty years.
Anita worked full time as a bookkeeper for Potomac Iron Works and Art Display Company in Washington, DC. She was a talented musician, active in the choir at St. Bernard's church in Riverdale, serving both as an organist and vocalist. Once she retired, she took great pleasure in traveling and spending time with her grandchildren.
She is remembered by her great sense of humor. She loved to laugh, sing, and tell stories, especially funny stories about people she knew. She was also a generous giver of gifts, never forgetting to mark each birthday or Christmas with something special she chose for her loved ones.
In 1998, after suffering injuries from a fall, Anita moved out of her split level home Riverdale to a one level condominium in Columbia, Maryland. By 2002 her health was deteriorating, and she relocated to Holy Cross Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Burtonsville, Maryland.
On Monday, April 14, 2008, after a long illness, Anita died at Holy Cross. She will be missed by many, especially her five children, John Kernan (Dianne) of San Diego, CA, Richard Garrison (Debra) of Phoenix, AZ, Kathleen Buckley (Mark) of Columbia, MD, Michael Garrison (Juanita) of Dagsboro, DE, and Mindie Burgoyne (Dan) of Marion Station, MD.
Additionally, Anita leaves behind fourteen grandchildren - Amy, Preston, Rachel, Sarah, Meghan, Tara, Kelly, Spencer, Bonnie, Ginger, Fletcher, Dominic, Daniel and Lara - and twelve great-grandchildren - Preston, Isabella, Richard, Alexander, Tate, Annabelle, Trent, Mia, Ava, Daniel, Grace, and Mia.
Anita was predeceased by her husband, Preston, her parents, Luis Granados and Anne Waters Granados, and most recently by her brother Robert "Bob" Granados, of Huntingtown, Maryland who passed away December 22, 2007.
Many lives have been touched and changed by Anita. She is part of a large family with over 500 living relatives, and has made many friends at her workplaces, at church, and in the communities where she lived. She is remembered as loving mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, who faced difficult obstacles in her life but managed to provide for her family, instill good values in her children, and still find time to laugh and have fun.
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