She left Texas in December of 1946 by train for Reno, Nevada to marry Obie Doyle McMinn on Dec. 29, 1946. They bought a new house, built for returning WWII soldiers, on the GI Bill. They had two children, Debbie (McMinn) Cosart and James Patrick McMinn. Anita lived and worked in Reno for 50 years. In 1998 she retired from Harrah’s Club, where she had worked for the last 36 years.

She had a home built by Brewington Creek, near where she had been raised, on land inherited from her parents. She lived there as a rancher for the next 25 years. She spent the last few months of her life in the Bandera Nursing and Rehabilitation Home after a hospital stay. Unfortunately, a fall there fractured her neck, resulting in her death.

Anita loved to be outside, tending to the beautiful bounty the land produced. She passed on her love of gardening to her daughter and granddaughters. She worked on her property, rain, or shine, as long as she was able. She raked and relocated thousands of rocks, as evidenced by the terraces all around her home. As recently as last October she could be found with a hoe stretched across her walker, headed out to the yard.

She wore out several hoes that came with lifetime guarantees. She carried one everywhere she went on her ranch. It was a multipurpose tool, useful as a walking stick, for chopping, digging, and killing snakes.

Anita is preceded in death by her brothers; J.B. Reed and wife, Neva; Burl Reed and wife, Allie; and Boyd Reed and wife, Marie. Her son, Pat McMinn, who was living with her, died in a car accident in 2022. She is survived by her daughter, Debbie, and son-in-law, Dinn Cosart; her sister, Elva Keeling; her grandchildren, Anastasia, Julia, Michelle, and Justin; 9 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held April 19, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Stringtown Road Church of Christ at 196 Stringtown Road, in Medina, Texas.

The family of Anita McMinn wishes to extend our sincere appreciation to the dedicated doctors, nurses, hospice workers, family, and friends who helped Anita in her final years. A special thanks goes to her caregiver, Euna Wagner, for her enduring devotion and kindness that blesses us still.

Arrangements are entrusted to Grimes Bandera Funeral Chapel.