Anita M. Minkin, 91, a longtime Ironwood resident, passed away Monday, June 25, 2007, at the Rosewood Care Center in Joliet, IL, with her family at her side. She had resided in Illinois for the past four years. Anita was born Nov. 10, 1915, in Ironwood, daughter of the late Otto and Anna (Wagner) Wurl, and graduated from St. Ambrose High School with the Class of 1933. She was employed as a bookkeeper at the Liberty Loan Corporation in Ironwood, and also worked with her four sisters at Eva Wurl, Inc., a women's ready-to-wear shop in downtown Ironwood. Anita was a sales clerk, and also traveled to the Chicago and New York merchandise markets as a buyer for the store. On July 8, 1942, Anita was married to Earl Minkin at the St. Ambrose Rectory by the late Msgr. J.B. Moriarty. Mr. Minkin was a flying officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Anita moved with him to Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada, while he was on assignment there. Upon her return to Ironwood, she devoted her life to the raising of her five children and involvement in her community and church. Anita belonged to Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, where she was a member of the St. Joseph's Circle, the St. Ambrose Junior and Senior Guilds, and the grief support group. She also served her church as a Eucharistic Minister. In her community, Anita donated her time to the Grand View Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, the Ironwood Women's Club, the Gogebic Association for Retarded Citizens, and the Summer Fest German group. She was a supporter of, and took great interest in, Theatre North, Gogebic Community College, and the Copper Peak ski flying hill, and was also a charter member of the Mt. Zion Ski Club, the first ski club on the Gogebic Range. Anita had many interests including travel, cooking and baking, playing bridge, and family card and dice games in which she was always a determined competitor. Her true interest and strength was found in her love and compassion for people. This love extended not only to her large family but to her many friends and their children and grandchildren, her neighbors, fellow church members, and to most anyone she met. Her warmth, gentle smile, and clever humor found their way into the lives and hearts of many people who will be forever touched by her life. Surviving are her daughters, Paula (David) Hendrickson, New Lenox, IL, and Mary (Curt) Brown, Hudson, Wis., and her son, Bill Minkin, of Mounds View, Minn.; grandchildren, Dan (Betty) Cairns and Tom (Beckie) Cairns, all of Traverse City, Mich.; Jaime (Tony) Sofio, Coon Rapids, Minn.; Chris (Jodi) Hendrickson, Noblesville, IN; Julie (Matt) Kemblowski, Lake in the Hills, IL; Kyle and Carli Hendrickson, New Lenox; Carolyn Fisk, Hudson; Wally Fisk, Newport Beach, CA; Kathy (Larry) Hoglund, North Oaks, Minn.; and Stacy (Evan) Alaimo, Dallas, TX; and her great-grandchildren, Eric and Allen Cairns, Katie and Jessie Cairns, Logan Hendrickson, Lily Sofio, Brandon and Zachary Hoglund, Emma Alaimo, Kai Engwall, and Madilyn Fisk. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Joyce Wurl, Escondido, CA, and Helen Minkin, Ironwood; and her loving nieces and nephews, David (Sue) Wurl, John (Noreen) Wurl, Tom Wurl, Rob (Annette) Wurl, Don (Peggy) Wurl, and Mary Ann (Mike) Pelletier. Besides her parents, Anita was preceded in death by her husband, Earl, in 1996; her son, David, in 1972; her daughter, Marcia Cairns, in 1990; her four brothers, Elmer, Otto, Milton, and Robert Wurl; and her five sisters, Ethel, Lillian, Carolyn and Eva Wurl, and Florence Landry. In accordance with Anita's wishes, cremation has taken place. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, July 6, at 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, with the Rev. Msgr. Jed Patrick, celebrant, and the Rev. Darryl Pepin, con-celebrant. Rite of Committal and inurnment will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Ironwood. Luncheon will be served in the parish hall immediately upon return from the cemetery. Relatives and friends may call in the St. Joseph Family Room at the church beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Our Lady of Peace Adopt-A-Student Program, 108 S. Marquette St., Ironwood Mich. 49938; or to Vitas Hospice, 210 N. Hammes Ave., Suite 203, Joliet, IL 60435, would be appreciated. To view Anita's obituary online, sign the guestbook, and express condolences, visit mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are with McKevitt-Patrick and Engstrom Funeral and Cremation Services of Ironwood and Hurley, along with Tezak Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Joliet, IL