Ann Sears

Born: Roberta Ann Heinold, October 23, 1934 in Riverside CA.

To: Robert Abe Heinold and Helen Mary Beaulieu

Sister: Mary Patricia Drenk

Half Brother: Robert Allen Heinold (She learned of her half brother about 20 years ago at which time they met and shared their individual stories.)

Ann's parents met during the Depression. Her dad had a dance band in which he played drums and her mom sang. Music was always a big part of her family including aunts & uncles.

Her dad developed MS having a period of remission during WWII. During that time, her parents worked for Lockheed which enabled them to live in a housing project in East Los Angeles. Ann enjoyed that period but had to take on a lot of responsibility while both parents worked, looking after a younger sister, etc. She began to babysit at age 9, but in the projects there was always an adult nearby.

The last half of her senior year of high school, the family moved from Los Angeles to So. El Monte where she attended Rosemead HS. There she met Keith and they soon began dating. Two months after high school, Keith and Ann were married in Quartsite, AZ.

In1951, near the beginning of the Korean War, many young couples were getting married. Keith and Ann wanted children but it was 2½ years before they would have their first. They spent that time traveling and otherwise having fun. They were then blessed with their first, Kathleen (Kathy) Lynn and Susan Ann came along almost 2 years later.

Feeling the responsibility of raising a family, Keith and Ann decided to become Catholic, being impressed with the example of a few friends and relatives. This seemed right for them and a good way to raise kids. They bought their first home in September, 1957 in Valinda, CA. Things were going well and they decided to have a larger family. Soon came Theresa (Terry) Marie, David Keith, Paul Eric, Michael John (decd), and Gregory Damien. Ann loved and was proud of her kids and their expanding families. Seven children grew to include 21 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren and their photographs were affectionately displayed on the walls of their home.

Grandkids

Rebecca, Tim, Sara, Kyle, Lisa, Danny, Sean, Patrick, John, Kathryn, Heather, Aubrey, Jhyrve, Lucas, Justin M., Alisha, Nathan, Brytannia, Haley(decd), Jonah, Justin D.

Great-Grandkids

Adelaide, Valeria, Chloe, Keely, Shiloh, Landon, Mike S., Robin, Gavin, Sasha, Tyrion, Josei, Evelyn A., Madeleine, Jacob, Kaia, Kaden, Micah, Masen, Michael J, Maliya, Jayden, Jordynn, Justin Jr., Gabriel (decd), Isaiah, Noah, Emma A., Josiah, Alice, Leon, Emma K., Evelyn C.

In this period, Ann took training to be a Girl Scout Leader and started a Juniors Girl Scout troop. Most of the 15 girls stayed in the troop until beginning seniors. Ann also enjoyed training other leaders and was with Girl Scouts for 9 years. Equipped with training from the Boy Scouts, and acquiring tents and supplies, Ann & Keith led the family and her troop on many camping and backpacking trips. After Girl Scouts, they planned and enjoyed many more memorable backpacking trips as the boys became involved in Boy Scouts and then beyond scouts just Ann & Keith backed packed with their younger boys.

Despite the busyness of daily life, Mom found time for other things she enjoyed, like reading, sewing, needlework, handcrafts, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles and playing cards.

In celebration of their 40^th anniversary Ann and Keith renewed their vows in their church in CA.

Finding her half-brother and also Keith's dad through research, Ann decided to get more serious about her genealogy hobby. On their many road trips, they incorporated Ann's hobby by visiting cemeteries where past relatives were buried to find and prove relationships in her research. Their travels took them through 47 of the 48 lower states and some of Canada - and Ann wouldn't fly. Her research has produced volumes of beautifully documented pictures, articles, and family lineage charts.

After their working careers, Keith and Ann moved to Colorado, a place they chose based on their many travels through the states. In 1992 a big home was bought to accommodate family visiting. Ann took pride in landscaping their new home with a wide variety of trees shrubs and flowers. She was involved in their neighborhood, sang in the church choir, and enjoyed working in soup kitchens and other church activities.

In 2008 they downsized to a patio home in the Gleneagles Village Senior Association in Highlands Ranch, CO where she became active in their landscape committee for several years.

From here on her life was more difficult because of having both hips replaced, two back surgeries, and several wrist and finger surgeries. While she developed many health issues, Ann continued to enjoy life and be as active as she was able. She especially looked forward to family get-togethers, playing cards and family reunions.

A Funeral Mass for Ann will be held at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, 2250 S Harrison Street, Friday, 3/29/19, 10 AM. Burial to Follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

 

A Eulogy To Ann:

Roberta Ann Heinold (who was always known as Ann) was born on October 23, 1934 in Riverside, CA to Robert Abe Heinold and Helen Mary Beaulieu. During her early childhood years, she and her family stayed with their relatives Ed and Izzy Van Allen in Riverside. When her parents got jobs at Lockheed, her family moved to a housing project in East LA. Ann had a lot of responsibility at a young age and even began babysitting her sister Mary when she was 9 years old. She developed a love of plants and gardening while helping her dad with landscaping. Ann was a good student and skipped a semester a few times while changing high schools with the result that she actually graduated when she was 16 years old.

Ann Heinold met Keith Sears at Rosemead High School their senior year. They were the youngest to graduate in the school and were graduation marching partners. They married on August 11,1951 in Quartzsite AZ at the ages of 16 and 17. She had thought about becoming a nurse after graduation, but transportation for further schooling was limited and they assumed Keith would be drafted for the Korean War. So Ann went to work for Security Pacific bank as a bookkeeper.

From the beginning of their marriage, Keith and Ann knew they wanted to have kids. After their 2nd daughter was born, they felt the responsibility of the family and decided to become Catholic. Having a few friends and relatives that were Catholic, this seemed right for them and a good way to raise kids. In celebration of their 40^th anniversary in 1991, Mom and Dad renewed their vows at their church in California.

Their family soon grew to include 7 kids and Mom's organizational skills were showcased in running the household. Grocery shopping was every Thursday and it always took 2 carts. Picking up 16 quarts of milk every other day from Grueter's Swiss dairy was an errand she gladly passed on to the kids when they were old enough to drive. Imagine laundry for 9 people – 2 loads every day rain or shine. For many years this included cloth diapers and hanging everything on clotheslines. She kept a housework list on the inside of the cupboard door for all the kids, which included wiping baseboards! Each school night we made our own lunch and polished shoes for the next day. In those days before cell phones & texting, how did we know it was time to come home from playing around the neighborhood? We all still remember Mom in the front yard calling out loudly (and always in the same order), ""Kathy, Susie, Terry, David, Paul, Michael, Greg.""

Despite the busyness of daily life, Mom found time for things she enjoyed, like reading mysteries, sewing, needlework, handcrafts, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles and playing cards. She trained to be a Girl Scout leader and a whole world of camping, hiking and backpacking opened up. She enjoyed learning outdoor skills like lashing together a cook station. Our summer vacations became camping trips and she figured out how to get all 9 of us and our supplies into a VW bus (including sleeping in there if needed). Road trips to the Rocky Mountains and Grand Tetons, hiking on volcanoes in Lassen, backpacking and fishing in the Sierras are all some of our fondest childhood memories with our family. Girl Scouts gave way to Boy Scouts as the boys got older and beyond scouts, Mom & Dad also backpacked in the Sierras with the boys. Mom was always game to try anything (except flying in an airplane).

Both Mom's parents had been jazz musicians. During the depression, her dad had had a dance band in which her mom was the singer, which was how they met. Many uncles and aunts were also musicians and music was always a big part of her family. Mom loved music, especially show tunes, which she sang around the house when I was young. Singing in the church choir was one of her favorite activities for many years.

In the early 1970's, Mom started delivering the Pennysaver, which involved walking several miles a few days a week. In 1975 she went to work for the Vons Grocery regional office as a bookkeeper where her attention to detail helped her become head of her department. She retired from there in 1990.

Mom and Dad moved to Highlands Ranch, CO in April 1992, where Mom enjoyed landscaping & decorating their new home. They got involved with their new parish and she also volunteered in a soup kitchen for a while. Now that she had time to explore family history, genealogy became her new passion. They planned road trips to check out libraries and cemeteries and also to meet family members she had newly discovered.

While she developed many health issues, Mom continued to enjoy life and be as active as she was able. She especially looked forward to family get togethers, playing cards and family reunions. She loved and was proud of her kids and their expanding families. Seven children grew to include 21 grandchildren and 33 great grandchildren, and their photographs are lovingly displayed on the walls of their home.

We love you, Mom, and will always treasure our memories of you.

Funeral Mass: March 29, 2019 10:00 am

Most Precious Blood Catholic Church
2250 S Harrison St.
Denver, CO 80210

https://mpbdenver.org/