Annie W. Voytko passed peacefully in her sleep on May 22, 2022 in Portland at the age of 89.
She was born on July 8, 1932 to Russell and Mary Terichow in Arrowwood, Alberta, Canada.
She was the first in the family to graduate high school in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. She got her first job in a plant nursery. This, along with her family’s large garden and farm, gave her the love of planting and growing vegetables and flowers. Her family joked that her favorite flower was a tomato plant. She would pretend to be a bee and personally pollinate the flowers.
In 1957 at the age of 23, she left home and followed her younger sister, Mary to California. There she got a job with the gas company and met her husband, Louis Voytko. The couple adopted a son, Michael in 1967. Soon they moved to Portland, then La Grande, Klamath Falls and lastly Hermiston. They arrived in Hermiston in 1974.
She had many jobs and hobbies during her time in Hermiston. She was always active, busy and helping others. Some of her jobs included, Welcome Wagon, Gifts International, Amera, Safeway sampler, hospital volunteer, and clerk with the school photographer. Her many hobbies included swim club, diet club, bingo, Hermiston fair entries, sewing, card making, stamping, cooking, baking and gardening. She enjoyed yearly trips with her sister to California and Lincoln City. In 2020, she moved to Portland to be closer to her family due to surgeries. In Portland she was taken care of by her granddaughter, Bailey and was around family daily.
She had three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She had touched thousands of people and will be missed by all.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at the Burns Mortuary Chapel, 685 W. Hermiston Ave.
A private family burial will be in the Hermiston Cemetery.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
