Obituary of Anna Mary Angle

To view the recording of Anna's Funeral Mass, please click here

Passed away peacefully with family lovingly by her side at Innisfree Hospice on April 19, 2024 at the age of 89 years following an extended stay (admission) at Cambridge Memorial Hospital from kidney stone complications and losing her long battle against the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Beloved mother of Steven (Annette Frost) Baker of Kitchener, Constance (Dave) Killion of Puslinch, Murray (Carolyn) Baker of Vancouver.  Dear sister of Patricia (Paul) Duford of Orleans and Evelyn Stofko of Ottawa.  Predeceased by her parents John and Victoria Stofko, brother, Jerome (Sandra) of Eganville, sister Margaret and brother-in-law Desmond Yolkowski of Renfrew, step sister Rose August (nee Gutziet) (Larry) of Sicamous, sister Cecilia (Jim) Jolkowski of Kitchener, brothers John Stofko, Lawrence Stokfo, and Leo Stofko of Renfrew, step-siblings Micheal, Mark, Edward Stofko, and Violet Pasco.

Anna was the oldest daughter in her family and endured hard work in her early years on the family farm and raising her siblings in Renfrew, ON.  She made many sacrifices and always put her family and others before herself.  As she got older, Anna also worked for some of the neighbouring families (John and Betty Hoffman, Irene and Leonard Quilty, and Dr. Mackie and his wife Sherie).  Dr. Mackie’s wife, Sherie showed Anna how to iron a shirt and many years later Anna shared this story when she showed her daughter how to iron a shirt.  She waitressed at the Hotel Renfrew, picked berries on a fruit farm in Beamsville, ON, and was a cashier (Loblaws at the Carlingwood Shopping Center in Ottawa), and ran the lunch counter at Loblaws (King St. in Kitchener, ON).  As Anna gained her independence and found her way in the world she ventured further to larger venues.  In April, 1960 Anna and her friend Betty Thiessen took the train from Kitchener, ON, stayed at the Henry Hudson Hotel, and attended the Easter Parade in New York City as well as taking in many other sites such as the Statue of Liberty while on a cruise on the Hudson River.

Anna’s middle sister Cecilia married and moved from home in Renfrew to Kitchener, ON but grew lonely for her other sisters.  So, Anna left the Ottawa Valley and moved to a rooming house on Homewood Avenue in the West end of Kitchener.  Anna married Michael Baker on October 12, 1963, and began her family in 1965.  She was one of the 50,306,648 people in attendance at World’s Fair Expo 67 in Montreal.  Anna was a terrific cook and baker, sewed, did needlepoint, did gardening, enjoyed caring for fresh cut flowers, knit, and crocheted as well as doing quilting.  In her late eighties while still in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease herself, Anna cut quilt pieces as her contribution to the lap quilts or larger quilts that were made to support others living in the community with Alzheimer’s. 

Anna resided and worked in Kitchener for many years at various pursuits:  as a cashier, waitress, PSW, and prepared meals for the priests at St. Daniel’s Catholic Church until she retired in 1999.  Prior to her retirement, Anna graduated from a cake decorating program at Conestoga College and pursued her love of baking long into her retirement years.  At age 68 she met her second husband at a dance and they married in 2002.  Anna was a member of the Rockway Seniors Center and attended the K-W Senior’s Day Away Program in 2016.  In 2017 after many years away from her siblings in Ottawa and Renfrew she made a successful car trip with her daughter to reunite with them to enjoy the Thanksgiving season.  She was the only one to finish all of her Thanksgiving dinner and still had room for her favourite pie, which was pumpkin pie.

She lived with the support of many agency PSWs and private carers in her condo in Kitchener until the age of 88.  In November 2022 she relocated to her daughter and son-in-law’s house in Puslinch.  Anna remained active in her daily life as an elderly senior by doing gentle exercise as tolerated up to three times a day and kept her mind sharp (as the progression of her Alzheimer’s allowed) with her passion for word search puzzles, variations of card and dice games, reading, chatting, listening to music, singing, reciting nursery rhymes, and examining her life in her memory book.  She attended the Cambridge Alzheimer’s program on Fridays for a year until the beginning of March, 2024.  Her own willpower never let her succumb to defeat and she did her best each day to cope with her limited  mobility, declining health, eye sight, and cognition. 

Anna was a beautiful person who lived an extraordinary life, had faith in herself, took pride in her achievements, chose happiness, had all that she needed, and was dearly loved and cared for.  She remained gentle and responded well to the kindness of family, and others that cared for and supported her through her later years.  Thank you to the Emergency Team staff at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, the doctors, occupational and physical therapists, nurses, PSWs, kitchen, and other support staff for your kindness and assistance.  Special thanks to doctors: Yu Ming Wang, John Sehl, Shyla Mathai, and Sidra Zaidi.  So many thanks too, to Dr. Dennis Kim and Trang.  Thank you, Innisfree House.  Many special thanks to Tammy, Christina, and Team Anna.

A visitation will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St., S., Waterloo on Monday, April 22, 2024 from 7-9 pm.  The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Francis of Assisi RC Church, 49 Blueridge Ave, Kitchener on Tuesday, April 23 at 11:00 am.  Interment will follow at Williamsburg Cemetery, Kitchener, and a reception will be held at the Dedication Centre in Williamsburg Cemetery.  A livestream and recording of the service will be made available on Anna’s tribute page at www.erbgood.com

In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made to the Alzheimer’s Society or The Heart and Stroke Association of Ontario at www.erbgood.com