Anita Struble

Anita (Harms) Struble, age 96, of Battle Creek, passed away on May 20, 2018. She was born on January 5, 1922 the first of identical twin sisters, Alvina (Harms) Struble. Yes, they married brothers! They were born in Nordheim, Texas in 1922, the daughters of Henry and Martha (Belitz) Harms Sr. They were second generation Americans coming in from Germany. The German language was spoken at home. After high school, Anita was a governess for an oil family in Port Cransis. She was the teacher for two children, a boy and a girl. After a summer, Anita had the opportunity for a job with Southwest Bell Telephone Company in San Antonio, Texas. At Zion Lutheran Church which was part of the USO in 1943, she met a young army G.I. who was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Ray Struble. They became engaged before he was deployed to the Pacific. At the end of WWII Ray encouraged Anita to move to Battle Creek. Her father Henry Harms Sr would not let Anita leave without taking her twin sister Alvina with her. It just so happened that Raymond had a brother Robert, so two brothers married twin sisters. For a number of years, they lived next to each other, Robert and Alvina’s 27 ^th Street backyards joined. At the end of WWII, the girls worked for Michigan Bell Telephone. In July of 1946, Raymond and Anita were married. In 1947 Robert and Alvina were married. Raymond and Anita had a son, Dennis in September of 1948. Anita worked at Michigan Bell until her retirement on February 14, 1980. She was an engineer layout clerk in the engineering department. Anita enjoyed family time the best. Her son Dennis, his wife Sharon (Linder) and granddaughters; Sarah, Megan, and Lindsey. Great Grandchildren; Kaleb, Andrea, Meredith Green, Maryn, Gwen, Poppy Etheridge, and Ethan Bramlet. Grandson-in-laws; Sean Etheridge, and Todd Bramlet. Anita was co-founder of Struble’s Hardware and Struble’s Mini Storage, along with her husband Ray and son Dennis and Sharon Struble. Anita enjoyed her family, her church, and her friends throughout her life. Her husband, Ray preceded her in death in 2008. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at the Trinity Lutheran Church, with funeral services to follow at 1:00 P.M., Pastor Kjersten Priddy officiating. Entombment to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorial Contributions may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church or St. Peter Lutheran Church. Condolences may be left for the family at www.henryfuneralhome.org