BICKFORD, Annie (Age 84) On Wednesday, August 20, 2014, Annie Bickford went home to be with her Lord and Savior to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Annie was born on July 3, 1930 in her beloved Belfast, Northern Ireland. Annie left her homeland as a 26 year old and moved to America, which was a dream of hers from the time she was 17. She is preceded in death by her parents, Andrew and Annie Niven; and her beloved husband of 30 years, Ralph Bickford. Annie enjoyed a career of 30 years as a loan officer and teller at the downtown branch of Spokane and Eastern Bank. She had been an active member of Fourth Memorial Church for nearly 40 years. She was known by all for her great ability as a cook, and for her endless generosity in constantly providing meals for her many friends. Annie's immense love for her Lord and for the Word of God inspired her to adopt a lifelong ministry as a relentless "prayer warrior". She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Alice and George Treanor, her niece Lynn Treanor; all of Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; and locally, by her cousins Ann Louise Becker and her husband Louie Becker, and Donald Materne. Her memorial service will be held at Fourth Memorial Church at 2000 N. Standard, Spokane, WA, on Saturday, August 30, 2014 at 2:00pm. Please join us for a Celebration of Annie's Life...

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Published by Spokesman-Review from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for Annie BICKFORD

4 Entries

September 4, 2014

I am sorry to hear of the loss of your love one. May God provide strength and comfort to the family during this time of grief.

Jes Brown

August 26, 2014

My "third grandma", Grandma Nan was my sister's godmother (I guess in a way mine too) and wife of my grandfather's best friend growing up in Spokane (they were friends from age 2). She was an incredible, "sharp-shooting", huge-hearted woman who made you feel like 2 million bucks always (not a million... 2 million!). When she said she was going to pray for something it wasn't just a nice thing to say, she meant it. She believed in God and wasn't concerned about letting you know where she stood. She knew she had things that bothered her or things about her own life that she did and she was ready to let them go - I respected that immensely. Since she married my grandfather's best friend she knew my mom's side of the family better than I do going back more than 50 years. I heard things about my own family that I had no idea about like my Grandpa Dave being in Ralph's Mom's Sunday School class probably more than 90 years ago. Her husband Ralph AKA Grandpa Ralph passed away some time in the 90s (I think, I was much younger). The two together were awesome - they made you feel like 4 million bucks! She immigrated from Northern Ireland and I'm hoping to track down her memoirs about growing up during the war there - it is amazing to read and was incredible to hear her talk about it. It was also interesting to hear about her decision to move to Spokane. My wife and I were able to see her about 2 years ago and even though she "didn't cook anymore" she still loaded us with TONS of food from her freezer (she had been saying that to me since I went to school over in Spokane). I was able to get a few of her recipes and really need to try them. My college roommates didn't meet Nan but they knew her from all the frozen cookies I would bring to our house. Beside just being awesome and you know, Grandma Nan, she fed me for weeks on end with some of the other frozen things (heaps of pasties, homemade pot pies, huge tubs of spaghetti sauce). I really wanted to stop by when we were on the way to Montana in July but it just didn't happen. So to people who have someone they want to see - make the time and go see them.

Nan with our daughter Heather Brown

Roberta Brown

August 26, 2014

My dad, Dave Stowell, said one time, “Nan knows her way around a sandwich!” She had made lunch for everybody when my folks were visiting one time, and he thought she made one delicious sandwich.

Our whole family spent many delightful times with Ralph and Nan and then just Nan over the years. Whenever we would come to Spokane we would be sure to go out to lunch and try to go to church before we left town. We shared the love of Jesus and enjoyed talking about the Lord with them both.

Nan has been my prayer partner for many years. I could call her and I knew she would pray. We had many wonderful answers. Now I will pick up her “cloak” and be the prayer partner for others. She finished well—I pray that I can finish as well as she did.

August 25, 2014

Annie and my mother, Alice Wilson, were dear friends. Mother always spoke of the wonderful meals Annie made and what a good cook she was. When I was diagnosed with cancer, Annie put me on her prayer list and has prayed for me for the last 10 years. What a wonderful gift she had -- feeding peoples bodies as well as their souls. We will miss her.

Sharon Roberts

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