Funeral Expenses for Our Friend, Anita Haywood

This Tribute was written by one of Anita's dear friends, Michele Johnston:

Anita graduated from this life on Friday night, August 27th 2021, leaving behind her husband and a six-pack of children who love her dearly and will miss her so much.

My friend, Anita, is as feisty a woman as you can imagine. On her first date with her husband, she squared off on him to let him know he hadn't quite earned her trust yet. (The story is even funnier when you know who her husband is.)

She's not afraid to call a spade a spade. When our kids were small, she called me out because I had the audacity to drive right past her house without stopping. When you've got six kids in the car, dropping in unannounced feels as polite as hand-delivering a plague of locusts. But Anita made it clear that I was welcome in her home at any time-- with or without my hordes.

Anita is the world's best listener. If you tell her you're fine but she senses that you aren't, she'll get to the bottom of things pretty quickly. And she'll sort you out. She's never afraid to tell you to get back to church, or to pick yourself up by your bootstraps, or to make things right. "You know where those negative thoughts about yourself are coming from, right? Well, you tell Satan to shut his mouth," she says.

Anita has a way with words. She asked me once, "Do you know why I love you?" When I shook my head, she told me, "Because when you come with me to the temple, I get to use the carpool lane." She could say that because she SHOWED me she loved me in so many other ways. She showed everyone. Anita's days were filled with incredible Christ-like service.

Years ago, I was going through a difficult time in my life. Anita started calling me every few weeks, asking if there had been any improvement. When I thanked her for reaching out so consistently, she said, "Of course! I'm your Visiting Teacher!" (Members of our church are often given an assignment to contact or serve specific individuals in their wards/congregations. This is called "Visiting Teaching," and it's a pretty stellar way to make a friend.)

"Anita," I told her, "nobody called you to be my Visiting Teacher. We're not even in the same ward."

"Heavenly Father called me," she replied. And I believed her.

Anita and her family visited me in June, here on the coast. We walked along the beach and enjoyed visiting for several perfect days before they returned home. We had enjoyed ourselves so thoroughly that we planned a girls trip for September, too. I was looking forward to it.

But we're going to have to reschedule it.

Everyone who knows her will miss her, because Anita is just that kind of woman: selfless and compassionate and energetic and authentic and hilarious. We know today she's enjoying a happy reunion with her Heavenly Father, and with her loved ones-- including one of her children who passed on before. And we know we'll be reunited as family members and as friends when we reach the ends of our own journeys and happily join her.

But we sure will miss her.