Anne Elisabeth Zehrung

Anne Elizabeth Zehrung, of Valley Springs, CA, passed away June 13, 2005, at the age of 69. A true "Farmer's Daughter" and native Californian, Anne was born August 29, 1935 in French Camp to Roland McGee and Mary Wilmath Bennett of Modesto, CA. She attended Hart Elementary School and Modesto High School. Later she studied nursing and received her nurse's cap at San Joaquin General Hospital, the same hospital she was born in! Anne always kept busy and loved sewing, oil painting, canning, but most especially caring for eleven children, twenty-four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, and every other child who needed tender, loving care! At a point in her life when she was left the single mother of four children, she prayed that God would lead her to the right man. That night she dreamed of a man in uniform with dark hair with a white patch in the front. Soon afterward she got a new job working as the secretary to the Santa Cruz Fire Dept. (their first woman employee ever). After her first day on the job she left by the back way and was greeted by a group of firemen come to "look at the new girl". She was amazed to see a tall handsome fireman with dark hair, except for a dollar-size patch of white hair at his forehead. His name was Thomas Edward Zehrung and the rest, as they say, was history. He was the single parent of five himself. On their first date, to a costume party, Anne dressed as a harem girl and according to her husband Tom, looked "really pretty"! They married and made a home in Santa Cruz, CA. Later they had a child of their won and adopted another, to make their loving broad of eleven: Anne (Shaun) Thomas, Janet Smith, Patricia (David) Garrison, Joseph (Sue) Zehrung, Deborah Zehrung, Thomas (Carmen) Zehrung, Raymond Zehrung, Teresa Zehrung, Daniel (Jessica) Zehrung, Jeannette (Chris) Ingman, and Millie (Ronald) Burns. She is already mourned and missed by her large loving family and host of life-long friends. A memorial service is planned for August 27, 2005, place yet to be determined.