Word has been received that Anita S. Hanson Pershern, age 77, of Menomonie, Wis., stepped forth from this life into God’s hands Nov. 9, 2011, surrounded by family. Born in Virginia, Minn., on Oct. 14, 1934, to Andrew and Sadie Hanson; Anita was their only child. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Virginia in 1951 and continued with Junior college, followed by further undergraduate work at St. Olaf, graduating in 1955 with a bachelor’s of science in home economics and dietetics. Following graduation, Anita married Frank R. Pershern, of Gilbert, Minn., on June 25, 1955. Moves to Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, and back to Wisconsin would be accompanied by the additions of Andrew, Peter, Mary Kay Pershern Polashek ’81, and Michael. By 1965, the family settled in Menomonie, and after the arrival of Susanna Pershern ’93, Anita began teaching and resumed her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Anita’s later educational pursuits included a master’s degree in food science at the University of Wisconsin-Stout and culminated with a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Minnesota in Food Science and Nutrition in 1989, with a thesis on “Corylus avellana” – the common hazelnut.

Anita was a loving and cherished wife, mother, grandmother, and professor. Her joys shared on this earth included countless hours at the piano and organ bringing the joys of music in private, in pairs, with congregations, and with choirs. As a teacher/professor she mentored, instructed, and guided her students, to help to prepare them for a professional career.

Dr. Pershern retired from the Food and Nutritional Science Department of the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1996. In their retirement, travel in North America and abroad engaged Anita and Frank, but their Northern Minnesota/Iron Range roots had taken them back to Burntside Lake in northern Minnesota for summers, starting in 1980. With Frank and Susanna, along with many other family members and friends, a traditional North Woods log cabin emerged and became the focus of their retirement – a gift from the parents which shall serve for generations to come. The summer of 2005 was special for family and friends, who gathered in the north woods for the celebration of Frank and Anita’s 50th wedding anniversary. Anita further embraced the north woods for the blueberries, whispering pines, relaxed visits and meals with friends, soulful calls of the loons, and tranquil days that brought forth peace of mind and comfort.

Anita is survived by her sons, Andrew Mark, Peter John and wife Kay Marie Pershern, and Michael Joseph; daughters, Mary Kay and husband Emil Polashek ’82, and Susanna Marie Pershern and husband Ronald Hawes; and grandchildren, Brandon and Cassie Pershern, Hannah, Caleb, Jotham, and Isabel Polashek, and Laurie Pershern. She was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved husband, Frank.