Anita Coen Terpstra

Anita Coen Terpstra

Cedar Rapids

Anita Coen Terpstra, 89, was called home to paradise on Dec. 19, 2022. She was reunited with her husband of 42 years, Harry R. Terpstra I, who passed into eternity in 1998.

She was born Mary Anita Coen in Atlanta, Ga., on Feb. 6, 1933, to parents Grace and Daniel Kennedy Coen Sr. She spent most of her youth in Louisville, Ky., before attending college in Washington, D.C. She earned a B.S. in Nursing from Georgetown University and became a registered nurse. She met her future husband, Harry, who was completing his law degree at Georgetown Law School. Anita and Harry married and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1955, where they made their home and raised a family.

Throughout her life, Anita was very involved in various non-profit work, volunteerism and political activism. She served several roles in the Linn County Democratic Party, was a former board member at Abbe Center for Community Mental Health, a longtime volunteer for Meals on Wheels and the Catherine McAuley Center and a member of United Way and Quota International. She was proud of her Irish Heritage as well as a devout Catholic. Anita was an animal lover and in her younger years, she enjoyed dancing and nature walks.

Anita was preceded in death by her parents, Grace and Daniel Coen; infant brother, Albert Coen; sister, Ellen Rossini; brother, Joseph Coen; beloved husband, Harry R. Terpstra I; and daughter-in-law, Tammy Terpstra.

Anita is survived by her son, Ray Terpstra and his children, Matthew (Salma Shaik) Terpstra and Elizabeth (Matt) Kallas; son, Bill (Val) Terpstra, daughter, Jean Terpstra (Charlie Mitch) and their children, Sage (Yeon Jang) and Nicolas Mitch; and daughter, Joyce Terpstra and her daughters, Marissa (Josh Burton), Jenna and Ella Whitaker. Anita was blessed with additional siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, and many loving friends and extended family too numerous to mention.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at All Saints Church in Cedar Rapids, with a luncheon to follow. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in honor of Anita to the Catherine McAuley Center or Horizons, A Family Service Alliance (Meals on Wheels).