Anita Saline

Anita Hazel Kegel Saline – Epic listener, teacher, athlete, singer, believer, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and longtime resident of NE Minneapolis. She was, in the words of her son Scott, “an Amazon of a woman.” Strong, mischievous, and perennially curious about the people around her, many would be surprised to learn that Anita always wanted to be a truck driver.  Anita came into this world on February 8, 1923 as daughter to Sadie (Anderson) Kegel and J.P. ‘Jack’ Kegel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was proud of her Irish and Swedish heritage. She had two brothers, Bob and Leroy. She graduated from Edison High School, where she met her husband, Marvin Saline, in the 10th grade.

An athlete and tomboy, Anita was the first in her family to attend college. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1943, where she loved to swim. Anita married Marvin in 1944, moving to Portsmouth, Virginia while Marv served in the U.S. Navy. There, Anita ran a half dozen day care centers for the military.Returning to Minneapolis, she taught kindergarten and substitute taught at St. Anthony Village and the Minneapolis public schools, much to the embarrassment of her two older sons, Craig and Rod.

Anita served her community as the den mother for Cub Scout Pack 153, and practiced her faith as an active member of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church and Nativity Lutheran Church, as a singer and a Stephen Minister. She moved to Duluth in 2003, where she lived closer to family and was resident of The Pines and Westwood Senior Living and a member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd.  It was important to Anita that her grandkids knew her, and that she knew them, so well into her eighties, Anita hopped planes to Alaska and to Sweden to spend quality time with her grandchildren and to celebrate the birth of her great-grandchild, Alexander, in Sweden.

Anita passed on Saturday, December 2, 2017 with family and love at her side. She is remembered and celebrated by her three sons and their partners:  Craig and Sharon Saline, Rod Saline and Cindy Kolquist, and Scott Saline; and eight grandchildren and their partners, and Anita’s great grandchildren:  Stephanie Saline and Mark Warren, Eric and Maria Saline (Alexander, Elliot, and Lisa), Sara Vallie  (Wyatt, Zach, and Lexi), Mike and Kristen Saline (Sigurd), Keri Saline and Patrick Finnegan (Shea and Keenan), Zamor Saline, Makai Saline, and Sadie Saline.

Visitation will be held on Sunday December 10, 2017 from 11:00AM until the Noon Memorial Service in the Benedictine Health Center Chapel.  935 Kenwood Ave. Duluth, MN 55811.  Inurnment will be held on Monday December 11, 2017 at 11:30AM at Hillside Cemetery, 2600 19th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418.  Memorials may be made to your favorite charity in Anita’s name.  Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home.  600 E. 2nd St. Duluth, MN 55805.  218-727-3555.