Sonya (Soni) Rae (Anderson, Lewis) Fannings

(Anderson, Lewis) Fannings In her own words:

"Born in 1937 in Howard, SD the 2nd of 6 children born to Selfred & Eva (Benson) Anderson. Raised in Tacoma, Washington from age 4. Attended Park Avenue Elementary, Stewart Jr. HS, and Lincoln HS, class of 1955.

I have so many things to be thankful for in this lifetime that I have had on earth. First and foremost is that I was fortunate to be raised in a home with loving parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and my beloved siblings, Shirley Zurfluh, Bonnie Gross, Betty Ann Anderson, Dorothy Wharton, and Alan (Butch) Anderson. Didn't we have some great times! We weren't rich in material things but we were wealthy beyond belief in family and love. Every holiday was a reason to get together and enjoy family. Next, I was blessed with my greatest wish and that was to be a mother. Thank you my beautiful and loving children, Cindy Hall, Kelly Lewis, Stacy Lewis, and Vicki Steele. I hope you all know how much joy you gave me and how much I loved you. You became more kind and caring people than I ever dared dream that you would be. The bonus for being a mom was getting to be a grandma to Adam, Michael, Matthew, Kyla, Andrew, Alexandra, Elizabeth, and Jordin. You kept me young and gracefully put up with my nagging about responsibility and all those life lessons I harped on. When the grandchildren grew up, I also became blessed with my seven beloved great-grandbabies, the most precious darlings in the world.

Special thanks go to my bosses at Pacific Rim Engineering. They allowed me to work a flexible schedule so I was able to parent my children by being involved in and attending their various activities when they were young. The fantastic organization, Toastmasters, brought many friends and mentors into my life and gave me so much more self-confidence over the 25 years I was involved with them. My thirteen years working at Ft. Lewis added more lifelong friends, especially Pat McComas, my lunch buddy. What a saint for putting up with my motor mouth each time we got together. A special thanks to my lifelong friend, Eleanor Peterson, who guided me in my early motherhood of four children in five years. Her words of wisdom, "Our children are not born handicapped, we make them that way", were never forgotten. To the '55' Lincoln Chix and the '55' Reunion Committee, thanks for the wonderful memories and so many, many giggles.

Most importantly, thank you to my sister, Dorothy, whom I often told people was not just my sister but my best friend. She always had my back. Even during bad times, I always had a support group of some sort.

And finally, to my dear friend, my sounding board, my lover, my conscience, the person who made all the rest so easy with his support and encouragement, my beloved husband, Tom Fannings, whom I know left in 2013 to save a place for me in Heaven with him. I leave this earth with no regrets because I had everything I needed - the love of family and friends. I thank God that he gave me as many years as He did. I'll see you all in Heaven, later rather than sooner!!!