Obituary of Annette H Raetz

Annette H. Raetz

July 24, 1928 - December 2, 2017

Annette Raetz was born Patricia Hinton in Douglas, AZ. She often pointed out that she was born only a few blocks from Mexico on G Avenue. Annette was the only child of Clara and Clarence (usually known as "Hogan") Hinton. The family was uprooted during the Great Depression when the Copper Queen smelter closed down. She would have been quite young at the time. Nevertheless Annette enjoyed passing along colorful stories about the area that she learned as a child as well as peppering her speech with the Spanish she learned from the Mexican smelter workers.
Eventually the family settled in Vancouver, WA on a small farm on 78th Street. Annette's constant companion was her horse Chief. The family raised chickens and Annette always had plenty to say about Leghorn hens. She was not a great fan: "Too flighty," she said. Besides Chief, flighty hens and-oh, yes, she was the milker of choice when a cow was difficult to milk-she liked a good joke. She would call the local market and ask, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" "Yes we do." (Prince Albert tobacco came in a red can with a picture of its namesake.). "Hadn't you better let him out?" And so it went. She had many such gags.
Annette married Frederick Raetz in 1950. They had three children, Randolph Arthur, Claudia Margaret Wilson, and Charles Leslie. They also adopted Glenn Henry and Ruth Eileen Chidester.
Annette was adept at much more than jokes. She was an accomplished pianist and singer. Even in her 80's Randolph remembers her singing along with the radio or a CD and delivering the melody perfectly. Residents and staff at Clearwater Springs Assisted Living Community constantly spoke of her piano playing and asked her to play more. She always had hoped that some of her children would be musicians as well but most took after her tone-deaf father. She got her wish with her granddaughter Margaret (Raetz) Baron.
Annette was a Cub Scout Den Mother for many years. She also could be counted on to oversee the vacation Bible school at St. Paul's Lutheran Church. She even managed vacation Bible schools at two churches on occasion. For many years Annette visited prisoners at the county jail. She also travelled and delighted in calling family members to see whether they could guess her location.
Her husband Fred and son Glen Henry preceded her in death. 
Annette is survived by sons, Randolph and Charles; daughters, Claudia Wilson and Ruth Chidester; grandchildren, Margaret (Raetz) Baron, Nathaniel Raetz, Sister Juanita de La Madre de Dios, O.C.D. (Elizabeth Raetz), Catherine (Raetz) Robison, Nicholas Raetz, Noel Raetz, Isaac Raetz, Scott Wilson, Mark Wilson, Stephanie Chidester, Stacy Chidester, and Samantha (Chidester) Jenson; great-grandchildren, Daniel Baron, Isabella Baron, Thomas Baron, Dmitry Baron, Laura Baron, Damian Baron, Josiah Robison, Asher Robinson, Henry Raetz, Frederick Raetz, Paul Pivkoski, Zoe Haynes, Eli Haynes, and James Haynes Jr.
Annette's funeral will be held at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 716 Washougal River Road, Washougal, WA on Thurs., Dec. 7, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Park Hill Cemetery.