Anita Laverne Larsen Sample – May 30, 2012


Anita Laverne Larsen Sample, 86, died May 30, 2012 in Amarillo, TX. A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 14, at 10 A.M. at Westminster Presbyterian Church with Dr. Clay Brown, minister, officiating. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers. Inurnment is in Llano Cemetery Mausoleum.
Anita was born July 31, 1925 at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, IL to Lars Larsen and Lolita Dotzauer Larsen. She graduated Nicholas Senn High School in Chicago in 1943. She continued her education graduating from Jane McAllister School of Nursing at Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan, IL in 1946. She worked as a registered nurse in Waukegan until her enlistment in the Air Force in 1950. Anita was stationed at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, CA and completed her anesthesiology training at Letterman Army Hospital, San Francisco, CA. She was a member of the 317th troop carrier wing and was stationed in Neubiberg, Germany. She earned the rank of captain.
Anita married Parvin Sample in Munich, Germany on May 3, 1953. He preceded her in death in 1990. She was also preceded in death by an infant son, a sister Lorraine Larsen, and a brother in law, Joseph Fargo.
Following her military service, Anita worked as a licensed nurse anesthetist at St. Paul’s Hospital in Dallas from 1955-57 and in Amarillo at St. Anthony’s, Northwest Texas, and the VA Hospitals from 1958—88. She retired from Northwest Texas Hospital in 1988 following a total of 42 years of service in the nursing profession.
Anita held professional certified nursing licenses from both Illinois and Texas. She was a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. She was known for her intelligence, dry humor, and her fantastic sun tans. She loved the opera, Boston Terriers, and her family and friends. Anita enjoyed visiting Santa Fe, was a voracious reader, especially of history, and was a staunch Republican. She was proud to have served her country during the Korean Conflict and was supportive of women in the military. She cherished her Chicago heritage but loved the warm, Texas sunshine too much to return.
Survivors include sons Peter Sample and wife Ginger of Amarillo, Paul Sample and wife Sue of McHenry, IL; a sister Romayne Fargo of Evanston, IL; cousins Caryl Koch of The Woodlands, TX, Rhoda Boulter of Spring Valley, CA, and George Davenport of Winston Salem, N.C.; grandchildren Hope Sample of Columbus, Ohio; Joshua and Jeffrey Sample of McHenry, IL; Dr. Paul Bagwell and wife Melissa of Las Vegas, NM; great granddaughter Rebekah Bagwell of Las Vegas, NM; a brother-in-law George Sample and wife Doris of Tucson, AZ; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Contributions may be made to the Thomas E. Creek Veteran’s Medical Facility, Amarillo, TX, Attention: Women in the Military, and to Westminster Presbyterian Church, Amarillo.

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