Anticole

Inta Varna Anticole, 78, passed away on Nov. 23, 2022.

Beloved wife of her husband, the late Robert Blaise Anticole; loving mom to Tina (Thomas) Cook, Dawn (David) White, Anthony Anticole, Mark (Pamela) Anticole and Matthew (Erin) Anticole; and Granny to Sean Cook, Ethan Cook, Isaac Anticole, Gavin White, Amanda Anticole, Maise White, Enzo Anticole, Maya Anticole, Luca Anticole and Jude Anticole.

Inta was born June 1944, in Liepāja, Latvia. When Inta was 8 months old, her mother and father bundled her up and escaped one night before Latvia was reoccupied by the Soviet Union. The three of them lived in displaced persons camps until 1949, when they were sponsored by a resident in Kalamazoo, Mich. to come to the United States. They eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio, which had a strong community of displaced Latvian families.

A story she would tell was being late to her first typing class in high school. The only typewriter left didn’t have any letters on the keys. She raised her hand to inform her teacher of the missing letters and he told her that a. she shouldn’t have been late, and b. the letter-less typewriter was hers for the entire semester. It turned out to be a boon, as Inta’s memorization of the keys made her a phenomenal typist.

Inta went on to college, where she was one of the first women to graduate with a primary education degree. It comes as no surprise that when she became a teacher, one of the topics she taught was typing. As her children got older, she spent many a day showing her children how to properly place their fingers onto the keyboard when typing (a fact I laugh at as I hunt and peck for the letters to type my part of this).

Inta met her husband, Bob at college and they got married in November of 1968. Bob and Inta’s first child, Tina was born in 1970, Dawn was born in 1971 and the triplets Tony, Mark and Matt, were born in 1973. As her children got older, Inta rejoined the workforce and began working at LaRoche College in the Alumni office, was the treasurer of her homeowner’s association for several terms, and she loved volunteering her time with the North Country Meals on Wheels as a part of the Terrific Thursday Team.

Inta could cook and bake! Her children have many memories of helping her make cookies, pies, pizzelles and biscotti, jams, cakes, bacon rolls, red sauce, meatballs and wedding soup. Inta loved to play games and was active in bridge and mahjong groups. She could play a mean game of Bananagrams and showed no mercy when playing Uno! There was also always a jigsaw puzzle working on the dining room table.

Inta was an amazing gardener, both with her houseplants inside, and the various areas around the exterior of her home. Gladiolus were one of her favorite flowers and dotted the garden outside. As an artist with both pencil and paint, her work was all around the home. She created a home that her children’s friends wanted to be in, as she became a second mother to all. Inta’s greatest love were her 10 grandchildren ranging in age from five to 25, and she was rarely without a cat or dog (or two) at her side, her last two rescues being Bella and Zoey. Her friends remember her as an extremely loyal friend who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

ANTICOLE — Arrangements for Inta Varna Anticole, who died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, are under the direction of GEORGE A. THOMA FUNERAL HOME in Wexford.

The family asks that donations be made in Inta’s memory to the North Country Meals on Wheels, 3281 Wexford Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044 or by calling 724-935-1877; or Drew’s Crew Wild at Heart Animal Rescue in Irwin, Pa. by calling 724-689-2377.

Condolences are available at www.thomafuneralhome.com.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.