Anita Eadus, longtime resident of Saint Maries, ID, passed away on June 22, 2026.

Born Anita Maurine Powell on March 2, 1934, to Dorothy — a mother she would forever long to know, but who died from "complications of giving birth" to her — perhaps because of that loss and longing, she would imagine no higher purpose in life than to become a good mother herself.

And yet, Anita was loved. She had an older brother, and would later gain a sister and two more brothers. Of her father, Willard Powell, she would fondly say, "the sun always rose and set in my father." He became the steadfast anchor of her early years. Though she had lost her own mother at birth, her paternal grandmother Ella quickly stepped in, and a few years later her babysitter, Wilma Bauer, fell in love with Willard and became Anita's stepmother. These two surrogate mothers nurtured the mother Anita would someday become.

The Powell family eventually settled in Saint Maries, Idaho, a place Anita would always call home. There, on those foundations of motherly nurture, she began her own life of motherhood. She married her first love, Charles Ebert, and for a time they were happy. But over 24 years together, the marriage met struggles it could not overcome, and in time it ended. Through joys and sorrows, Anita stayed focused on family, passing down the philosophy handed to her by her own mothers: "Strive to live and let-live, because it takes all kinds of people to make a world!"

Her children, and eventually her grandchildren, became the center and warmth of her life. Having accomplished her mission to be a good mother, she turned to her next: being a good grandmother.

After the divorce, her life was, in many ways, in pieces. She worked low-paying jobs as a CNA and later a school lunch preparer, struggling to make ends meet. She found love again with Frank Lex, a local railroad worker — but their time was brief; Frank died of cancer only a few years in.

Once again single, but never alone, Anita leaned on her children and grandchildren, and took up quilting, a passion inherited from Wilma, who was still quilting in her later years and taught Anita all she knew. Anita bought a sewing machine and began piecing quilt blocks together.

Just as the tiny pieces of her life began coming together, a knock came at her door. On the other side stood Leonard Eadus, a railroad worker who'd moved away years before when the town's railroad folded. Hearing she was single, he'd come to pay a visit. Leonard and Anita had liked each other long before, back when they were neighbors, so it felt meant to be — Anita soon left her beloved Saint Maries for San Bernardino, California, to marry him.

In California, Anita taught herself to type and landed a job with the San Bernardino Forest Service, work she loved. Once Leonard retired from the railroad, the couple returned to Saint Maries, partly to care for Anita's aging father, but especially to be near her children and grandchildren.

The decades that followed held loss and sadness, but far more love and joy. Between looking after grandkids, Anita and Leonard delighted in gardening, sightseeing, and visits to Leonard's family in other states. And always, the quilting: Anita joined a local club, the Valley Piece Makers, and crafted quilts for family and friends alike. A quilt, after all, has three parts: a backing that holds it together, a warm batting at its core, and a top where the smallest, seemingly insignificant pieces combine into a tapestry of nurturing warmth and protection. Anita lived every part of that craft.

Anita and Leonard shared many wonderful years until January 2024, when Leonard passed away, and grief soon gave way to Anita's own failing health. She came under the care of her children. But it was also a time when, having already fulfilled two missions in life, she devoted herself to a third: being a good great-grandmother.

Anita took her final breath on June 22, 2026. Beside her was her loving daughter, Dori — named for Dorothy, that mysterious mother who, 92 years before, gave Anita this wonderful life.

She was preceded in death by her brothers, Craig Powell, Richard Powell, and Dennis Powell; her husband, Leonard Eadus; her first husband, Charles Ebert; her daughters, Sharon Ebert and Connie Kirkella; and her grandson, Kenny Peters.

She is survived by her sister, Janice Kienbaum; her children, Daniel (Aurora) Ebert, Dori Myers, and Joseph (Vanessa) Ebert; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

There will be a graveside service at Woodlawn Cemetery in Saint Maries at 2pm on June 30th, followed by picnic lunch at Cherry Bend in her honor.