Anita Mary Sargent Parins' Obituary
Anita Parins Obituary
Anita Mary Sargent Parins, 84, of Oberlin, OH, died March 11, 2022. She was born November 6, 1937, in Indianapolis, IN, and was a 1955 graduate of Shortridge High School there. As a child, she developed an interest in playing the cello because of her parents' musical interests. Her love of reading was encouraged at a local library, and this passion led her to becoming a librarian. In 1959 Anita earned a bachelor's degree in history from Oberlin College, where she played in the orchestra that accompanied musicals. She went on to earn a master's degree from Columbia University School of Library Science, New York City. With an urge to travel, she accepted an Army librarian position in Germany. Anita spent seven years in Germany and France, and married Aleksandrs “Sasha” Parins in 1969. He was foreman of a Latvian Labor Service unit attached to the U.S. Army, as well as an accomplished maker of Latvian folk-themed jewelry. Anita returned to the U.S. in 1970 and Sasha joined her the following year. They lived in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia, and then in Maryland, where she lived when she retired in 1998. For 15 years, Anita was an active member of Davies Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Temple Hills, MD, where she served for a while as treasurer, and played in a music ensemble, among other involvements there. In Brandywine, MD, she and Sasha acquired a wooded property where they enjoyed hosting summer and winter solstice celebrations with fellow Latvians. Sasha died in 2012, and Anita relocated to the Kendal Community in Oberlin in 2015. Anita is survived by her brothers, Glen Sargent (and his wife, Kathy Geiman Sargent) of Hagerstown, MD, and Kirk Sargent of San Rafael, CA; a niece, Sophie Sargent of Hagerstown, MD; and step-children, Mara Endl, Ilze Hambrecht, Klavs Parins, Baiba Ertl, and Indra Grabsch, all of Germany. In addition to her husband Sasha, Anita was preceded in death by her parents, Herbert Briggs Sargent and Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Sargent; and a brother, Neil. There will be no services. Memorial contributions may be made to Kendal at Oberlin Residents Assistance Fund, 600 Kendal Drive, Oberlin, OH 44074, or to an Alzheimer's research and prevention organization.
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