Anne Mingus' Obituary
Born April 12, 1932 in Berkeley, California, Anne Mingus passed away peacefully at the age of 86 on March 3rd, 2019. Anne’s determination to follow her passion and her dedication to those she loved has been a thread and theme twirling throughout her life.Prior to starting 6th grade, Anne’s family moved to a different area of Berkeley. This move would have meant that she would have to go to a different elementary school and she would miss her friends. Anne didn’t want to do this. So she decided to get herself ready and leave the house at 6am to catch two buses to get to Cragmont Elementary in Berkeley. During junior high and high school, she would spend her summers in Twain Harte with her best friend’s family, spending part of one of those summers daily reading to and taking care of her best friend who was fairly sick. Anne went to Oberlin College, in Ohio, her freshman year, went to the University of California at Berkeley her sophomore year and then went back to Oberlin to finish her degree. She graduated from Oberlin in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. After graduation from Oberlin, Anne returned to Berkeley where she landed one of her favorite jobs as the Executive Assistant for the Head of Academics. She loved being in the thick of all the goings on at the university. It was a sense of pride that she was a source of information for the other Deans, who would often request what happened at this meeting, what was the decision of that meeting, all of which she could provide having taken everything down in shorthand. She never lost the desire to be close to education. Anne also assisted in the elementary schools of her kids and later she held all sorts of secretarial jobs around the Bay Area, her last job was in the fundraising department of Stanford University.Anne loved to dance. During high school, she would take dance lessons up in the hills of Berkeley. She continued to learn and after a year at her favorite job in Berkeley, she left to follow her love of dance and became a dance instructor when the Arthur Murray Dance Studios (which are still in existence today) of Vallejo contacted her for an opportunity to replace an instructor. It is there that she met Billy, her husband and life dancing partner of 60+ years. He was a former student encouraged to come back and give it one more try as they had a new teacher. Anne was the new teacher. They met, dated and married on April 21, 1957, spending their honeymoon in Carmel, California where they spent most anniversaries each year. In the early days, they moved around the country a lot for Billy’s job at the time, but eventually they set up roots in Los Altos, California. They moved from Los Altos to Groveland, California (Pine Mountain Lake) in 1995 to live closer to their other special place, Yosemite. They went to Yosemite every year since 1957, especially for the Christmas holidays. While in Pine Mountain Lake, Anne volunteered at the Groveland Historical Society and rekindled her love of singing by becoming a member of the Pine Mountain Singers Choral Ensemble.Anne never missed a special event. She never forgot a birthday, anniversary, a father’s or mother’s day, or any other holiday in which a card could be sent and signed with “oodles and buckets” of love. She was an unsuspecting (even to herself at times) Pshaw card shark who always say she should have bet more. She had a hugely compassionate heart that never wavered. A compassion and love for others that was not sacrificed by but was equal to her strength and resilience. She was a friend, confidant, seasonal Ashland Oregon Shakespeare Theater goer, singer, dancer, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother known as Nana and Oma, who loved her friends and family with every ounce of her being. Like Yosemite, her favorite place, she is many things and one; she is grand and unique, strong and gentle. She is a beloved memory and an ever-lingering song. She is love and she transcends.Anne is preceded in death by her husband Billy and is survived by: the four Ks – her four children – Kimberly Rhodes with son-in-law Greg, William “Karl” Mingus, Keri Mingus, and Kory Mingus with daughter-in-law Elvira Hooijmaaijer; her four grandkids – Evan Rhodes, Jennifer Rhodes, Chloe Barton and Femke Mingus; and all her salt of the earth cousins in and around Omaha, Nebraska, especially Sarah Spire.In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her name to the charity of your choice.
What’s your fondest memory of Anne?
What’s a lesson you learned from Anne?
Share a story where Anne's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Anne you’ll never forget.
How did Anne make you smile?