Obituary of Anita May Strong

In loving memory of Anita May Strong May 10, 1930 - May 19, 2014. Anita, a former resident of Santa Maria, CA passed away peacefully at Aegis of Aptos on Monday, May 19, 2014 with her daughters by her side. Anita was born Juanita May Lamb in Paris, Texas to Jesse and Cora Lamb on May 10, 1930. She was raised in the Selma area, the 12th of 13 children. Anita married Wayne Cameron in 1946 and in 1959 they moved to Santa Cruz where they raised their 3 beautiful daughters. Anita was a meticulous housekeeper and was famous for her homemade pies. In 1970 Juanita married Robert Strong and changed her name to Anita. Anita and Robert owned and operated a mobile homes sales dealership and mobile home parks in the Santa Cruz area. In 1974 they moved their mobile home dealership to the Palm Springs area where they also acquired mobile home parks. It was in Palm Springs that Anita developed her love of golf and she often boasted about her hole-in-one. Anita also loved to host yearly parties for the Bob Hope Desert Classic Golf Tournament at her home on the 15th tee at the Bermuda Dunes Country Club. In 1989 they moved to the Solvang/Santa Ynez area where they owned commercial real estate. After Robert's stroke in 1994 Anita continued running the day to day operations involved in their commercial rentals. Anita retired from the business world in 1999 and moved to Santa Maria where she continued her love of golf. Although Anita played in many golf tournaments her all-time favorite was the YMCA tournament which she sponsored and played in for many years until her move to Aegis of Aptos in December 2013. While at Aegis Anita was cared for by many wonderful care managers. We wish to extend our heartfelt thank you to the Aegis care managers (too many to name) and Hospice of Santa Cruz for their devotion, compassion and friendship. Anita had many passions in life. She loved to sing and dance and was a big contributor of time and money to many charitable organizations including The American Cancer Society, Heart Association, Autism Association and the YMCA. Anita is survived by her daughters Karen Lutes (Randy) of Eagle River, AK, Michelle Burnett (Bill) of Scotts Valley, CA, granddaughters Trista Wolfe Maestas (Richard), Kristin Lutes, Stephanie Bustamante (Bryan), grandsons Randal Lutes and Ryan Burnett as well as six great-grandchildren, sisters Alice Crawford and Dorothy Compelupe and companion Dan Prickett. She is preceded in death by her daughter Linda Cameron Wolfe and grandson Daniel Wolfe. Funeral services will be held at Oakwood Memorial Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Rd., Santa Cruz on Saturday, May 24, 2014 at noon. Visitation for family and friends will be on Friday, May 23 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to one of Anita's favorite charities, Hospice of Santa Cruz or the charity of your choice.