Anna Marie (Lasala) Baworouski grew up in Chicago with her parents Vincent and Maria Lasala. Her family moved to California when she was thirteen, where she went to Burbank High School. Anne Marie married had four beautiful children.
She painted using paint by numbers of oil pictures, did needlework, got custom frames to display her artwork in her house and was so proud when she got compliments. When her kids needed help in school, she took the new math class or arranged for a tutor for them and spent countless hours helping with reading, spelling, and teaching her kids the importance of having excellent handwriting. She was appalled to hear cursive is not taught anymore! She volunteered at the kids’ schools. Anna had a servant heart as she was very involved at St. Paschal’s Parish working in the church store, the rummage sale, catechism classes, church festival, the church guilds, and taught her kids the value of giving to others, food for the poor and the sick. She was a campfire leader and always looking for cute and innovative crafts. She would encourage her kids to make homemade gifts for family and teachers.
She was on a women’s bowling league as a good bowler. When she got divorced it was her priority to still give her kids vacations, so she sat in the sun reading and watching us swim at the Horizon View Club or planned day trips to California missions from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, and yes … Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Hawaiian Gardens, Marine Land and San Diego Zoo plus all the museums.
For her kids to go to summer camp she drove us around to different neighborhoods to sell or sat at Dupars while we took turns asking for sales of 400 boxes of campfire candy each!
She was the Saturday soccer mom as well.
To give her kids Catholic school education and provide the best life possible she worked at the bowling alley in childcare, JJ Newburys in the yardage department, and took soldering classes to be an inspector in the microwave circuit boards working at Burroughs, Bowmer, Tandan. When that industry dwindled, she became a playground Assistant at Hollow Hills School in Simi Valley controlling drop off traffic and watching kids at lunch recess she loved the kids and would participate in school programs to cheer on the kids and worked at TJ Max in Simi Valley in the fitting room and had many great stories of stopping shoplifting!
She lived in Simi and volunteered at Simi Valley Adventist hospital for over 25 years she loved
working in stores sorting and labeling supplies and developed many friendships and was even
the volunteer for the year she loved attending the yearly volunteer banquets and dressing up
with the themes western Hawaiian 50’s.
At 70 her kids sent her to Hawaii with Lora, and that was the trip to the Hawaiian cultural center the Arizona memorial Luaus and adventures walking and sightseeing.
She lived at Sorento Villas and enjoyed her friends and weekly bingo games. She was so excited when she won money or prizes.
Her grandkids brought her so much joy and enjoyed traveling to visit them and playing dress up putting on shows and attending their activities she was so very proud of their accomplishments Kevin’s movies graduating Chapman college in film and now his desire to return to grad school and become a teacher. Gillian graduated from Harvard went on to Cambridge and is now doing her PhD at Princeton.
Anna Marie lived with her daughter, Lora, had a lot of wonderful caregivers and they became her extended family attending their events celebrating birthdays and holidays. She loved reading and when her eyes were failing than we read to her. She always wants to know what was going on in the world, and it was so important vote!
Anna Marie “DASH of Life” is filled with love and the people who loved and cared for her. She could disarm the serious with a wink or mischievous expression, and Anna had a knack for making anyone she encountered smile. She elicited easy laughter with her wit or an “ooh la la.”
In her later life, Anna emphasized unconditional love.
She had no illusions about life’s struggles. Yet her quiet awareness of this reality meant she focused on other messages in her interactions with her children, grandchildren, and those with whom she spent time. She articulated that simply belonging to one another was itself a joy and a gift.
Anna also had a lot of fun. She adored oysters, sports, and Frank Sinatra. She slipped Italian words into conversation and approached mundane moments with playful banter. She always had room for gelato.
Anna passed away on June 30, 2021 at the age of 87.
She is survived by her children—Lora, Elisa (and Earl), Kori, and Vince; her grandchildren, Kevin and Gillian; and her dear extended family—Doreen, Darren (Barbara, Thomas, and Abigail), and Tracey (Sam).