Obituary: Jennie Vita

Jennie Vita (nee Grimes), 65-year resident of Mt. Shasta, died on February 10, 2021 at her childhood home on the Big Sur Coast. She was 94. Born on January 19, 1927 to Big Sur pioneers Adelaide Electa Dani and John Corbett Grimes. Her childhood was spent on the Grimes Ranch with her two sisters, Mary and Barbara, and included a horse named “Pet”, learning to drive at age 9 and attending a one room school house.

Following graduation from Monterey High School in January of 1945, she joined The Cadet Corps and attended St. Lukes Nursing School in San Francisco, California.

After graduation in 1947, she traveled with a friend to work in the surgery department at the McCloud Hospital, where she met and then married Robert Aldo Vita

(deceased) on June 18, 1949. She is survived by her children: Dixie Eisenhauer (Mark), Kathy Vita (Joe Mason), Glenn Vita (Deborah Justin) and Greg Vita (Diana), as well as eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Jennie was a busy mother raising her 4 children and involved in all their activities – PTA, room mother, field trips, bake sales, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Ski School, Birthday parties, and family vacations to Mexico, Hawaii, Disneyland, Yellowstone, and the Seattle World’s Fair. She believed, you “Couldn’t get a well-rounded education from just books. One needed to see and do, as well.”

She enjoyed playing the piano, playing cards, square dancing, sewing, knitting, working as a Registered Nurse, skiing until she was 80, cooking and baking. Her highly regarded pies, cinnamon rolls and cheesecakes were delicious and never lasted long. She received numerous awards for her community service with the PTA (Lifetime member), Girl Scouts (Leader and Board Member), Mt. Shasta Ski School (instructor) and ribbons for her entries in the Siskiyou County Fair.

Her joys in later life were babysitting her grandchildren, working in her garden, eating See’s Candy and living out her remaining years on her beloved “Grimes Ranch."

She was a smiling woman with tremendous energy, who will be missed greatly by our family. No services are planned. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice.