Anita was a special woman; she made me who I am, and she felt like a second grandmother to me and a dear, dear friend. Anita always gave, considered, and cared deeply; she always gave advice and pep talks, like when my bunny died before the recital, when someone would bully me, and even to now, going to school. I recall a time as a kid, where she had me sit on her lap as we watched and listened to a more advanced student play; she taught me over the years how to grow to be the same. A couple years ago, when I came to visit, she had even ran out to the store to pick up all different things for me, to have with tea together; this is just how thoughtful, caring, and generous she always was. Although she only knew I was applying and not that I was accepted, thanks to her, I am studying through Berklee. I will carry her passion and legacy into the music I create throughout my journey, as she will not be forgotten.
I cannot express the sorrow I had to find this news; she means so much to me and I look up to her, like I have for most of my life. My condolences to her family. She was a purely warm, passionate, thoughtful, patient, talented, intelligent, and beautiful person, with an extraordinarily full heart. I am incredibly lucky to have had a teacher such as her, as most are not as fortunate. She was irreplaceable and inspirational, and will be missed for the remainder of my life, and always. I hope for as much peace and solace as possible to her family and loved ones, in this time.
Linda, I will always remember your mom's gift of music and love for her family.
my 10 yrs of piano lessons in her home. If I was early to my lesson, I was always warmly greeted by her german short-haired pointers and a spoonful of fresh honey from the honeycomb. The recitals always ended with a performance by Anita that always "wowed" the crowd. She was a wonderful person and instructor and she will be greatly missed!
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Anita was a special woman; she made me who I am, and she felt like a second grandmother to me and a dear, dear friend. Anita always gave, considered, and cared deeply; she always gave advice and pep talks, like when my bunny died before the recital, when someone would bully me, and even to now, going to school. I recall a time as a kid, where she had me sit on her lap as we watched and listened to a more advanced student play; she taught me over the years how to grow to be the same. A couple years ago, when I came to visit, she had even ran out to the store to pick up all different things for me, to have with tea together; this is just how thoughtful, caring, and generous she always was. Although she only knew I was applying and not that I was accepted, thanks to her, I am studying through Berklee. I will carry her passion and legacy into the music I create throughout my journey, as she will not be forgotten.
I cannot express the sorrow I had to find this news; she means so much to me and I look up to her, like I have for most of my life. My condolences to her family. She was a purely warm, passionate, thoughtful, patient, talented, intelligent, and beautiful person, with an extraordinarily full heart. I am incredibly lucky to have had a teacher such as her, as most are not as fortunate. She was irreplaceable and inspirational, and will be missed for the remainder of my life, and always. I hope for as much peace and solace as possible to her family and loved ones, in this time.
Musical Holidays
Some fond musical memories that I had with Oma came around the holidays. Every Christmas, she lead us in a caroling session consisting of German and Estonian Christmas songs. She would put her own musical flare into the piano making a more common Christmas song extraordinary. She always remained humble regarding her musical talent and her ability to transpose and recreate pieces on the piano, however, I remember one Thanksgiving she truly amazed me with this talent. While she was helping in the kitchen with the turkey and other dinner preparations, she found the time to help my sister and myself with a hymn we were going to sing at church that was too high for our vocal ranges. Between basting the turkey and figuring out the perfect timing for every dish in the oven, she was able to run over to the piano for us, and while sight-reading the music, she transposed the entire hymn as she was playing. She then was able to rewrite all of the music on blank sheet music paper before checking on the turkey again. Additionally, during that same meal prep period, she found time and energy to teach a more efficient way to play a piece I had been practicing on the piano. In that moment, I was amazed at how easily she was able to musically complete what many would consider very difficult work, even without Thanksgiving dinner cooking on the stove. Her talent and her immediate readiness to help myself and my sister is telling of the person she was as she would always dedicate as much time as she could to her grandchildren. I will always admire her for how she was not only a talented musician, but she also was a wonderful and caring grandmother, constantly putting her grandchildren's needs before her own. I will always think back to her with such a smile on my face and will always feel the warmth of her love.
The Supporter
One of the most admirable qualities about my grandmother was her selflessness. She never wanted to talk about herself, she only wanted to hear about how you were doing. How are your friends doing? Classes going okay? Which is your favorite one? Why?
These are some of the questions that came up during every single time we spent together. Being an athlete my entire life, Oma came to as many games as she could. In college while I was playing lacrosse for Vanderbilt, she live streamed every single game. At the end of each game when the final whistle blew, she would send me an email, recapping her favorite plays, stating why the coach shouldn’t have subbed someone out, or recounting the way I scored a goal. And of course, each game was followed by a personal phone call, to hash out the details over the phone. My grandmother supported every endeavor that I chose (as well as my entire family) within our 23 years spent together. Her incessant support was always a comfort to me, and is something that I will always be grateful for. I love you Oma