Anna Fleming

Anna Mae Fleming, 86, Lakewood, Colorado, passed away peacefully on August 4, 2014 after a prolonged battle with dementia. She is survived by her son, Patrick Fleming, of Lakewood, her stepdaughter, Cecilia Fleming, of Mesa, Arizona, three grandchildren– Zachary Fleming, Benjamin Fleming, and Kelly Fleming–and nine great-grandchildren—Jacob, Makenzy, Brooklyn, Tatum, London and Cambrick, the children of Zachary and Jenifer Fleming; and Nathan, Bryce and Jace, the sons of Benjamin and Kristin Fleming. She was preceded in death by her husband Cecil Fleming in 1992 and their daughter Michele in 2002. Born Anna Mae Vick in Rice Lake, Wisconsin in 1928, she was the youngest of five children of Peder Vick (formerly Honsvik), a Norwegian immigrant, and Claudina Vick (nee Olson), whose father and maternal grandmother were also Norwegian immigrants. She had older brothers Orrin, John and Peter and a sister Oline. She also had three older half sisters by her father’s previous marriages–Astrid, Dorothy and Johanna. She grew up on her family’s modest farm near Barron, Wisconsin, milking many cows and cleaning vast quantities of berries. She graduated from Rice Lake High School and soon thereafter left Wisconsin to pursue office work in Belleville, Illinois, where her brother Peter and his wife lived at that time. It was there that she met her husband, Cecil. They relocated to Long Beach, California, where Patrick was born in 1953, and later to Phoenix and Mesa, Arizona, where Michele was born in 1957. The family called many places home beginning in 1959, including Kearny, Arizona; Memphis, Tennessee; Smyrna Tennessee; Long Beach, California; and Portland, Oregon, before settling in Tempe, Arizona in 1966. Anna was primarily a homemaker while her children were young, then took part-time work for several years on cafeteria staff for the Tempe (Arizona) School District, after which she began a 25-year career with the Tempe Schools Credit Union. She was one of a staff of four in the modest office on West Broadway Road in Tempe when she started out, temporarily retired in 1991 to care for her ailing husband, and finally retired in 1999 as a vice president of a large financial enterprise with multiple offices. Her days with the credit union were among her happiest, and she was well-loved by colleagues and customers alike for her cheerful, helpful approach to service. Anna particularly enjoyed caring for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and gatherings with family and friends to eat and drink, play cards and other games, and share stories, jokes, and songs. She is loved and remembered for her happy, positive approach to life and for her willingness to help anyone and everyone that she could along the way. Celebrations of the life of Anna Mae Fleming will take place on Friday, August 29, 2014 at 1:00 pm in Lakewood, Colorado at the residence of her son, Patrick, and on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at a time and location to be determined near Tempe, Arizona.