Winona Anne Sjoden, 78, of Packwood, Washington, went to be with Jesus on Sept. 22, 2022, after passing peacefully with family by her side at Curtis Hill Manor, Chehalis.
Anne was born Winona Ann Goodier to Lila (Rich) Goodier and Warner D. Goodier on Dec. 31, 1943, in Tacoma Washington. She attended Centralia schools and graduated from Centralia High School in 1962.
After graduating high school, Anne moved to Randle with family friends to help with their new baby. She got hired as a waitress at the Mt. Adam’s Cafe, where she met her first love, Leonard Coleman. They got married in November 1962. They then had and raised three children, Brian, Leah and Lisa, and later divorced. In 1984, Anne married Don Sjoden. They bought a farm and lived and enjoyed the farm life with lots of animals until Don became a quadriplegic due to a horsing accident. Anne was the best caregiver she could be until Don’s passing in 2011.
Anne was the best mom and nana, as well as wife, sister and friend. As a young mom, she was involved in all her kids’ school and sport activities and thankfully, always dragged them to church. She was a member and for decades, regularly attended the Randle First Baptist Church, and also attended the Packwood Foursquare Church the last years before passing. In her younger years, Anne was always cooking, baking and serving people, all while raising her family. She was an amazing room mother, learned to ski so she could chaperone Friday night ski trips, chaperoned field trips and took in extra kids and adults when they needed a place. She was fearless. It wasn’t uncommon for her to pick up hitchhikers. She befriended everyone. She loved the elderly and drove many to appointments or for anything they needed help with. Serving God and people were her life ministry. In later years, Anne made time to enjoy being a nana. She would plan special times with separate activities for her grandkids, even after becoming her husband’s full-time caregiver. They share great memories of their time with her and we are all grateful for every minute. There is never a time when we are ready to say goodbye, but the time has come for her to be free from pain, which we know she so deserves. We look forward to reuniting in heaven with her.
"Grief never ends … but it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. … It is the price of love.”
Anne was preceded in death by her parents, little sister JoDee Kelly, husband Don Sjoden, great-grandson Kolton Anderson and many other precious family and friends.
She is survived by her little brother Ron (Lorraine) Goodier; son Brian (Patti) Coleman; daughters Leah (Tony) Gillispie and Lisa (Larry) Henricksen; bonus daughter Yolanda Tomma; stepchildren Sandra, Randy, Ron, David and Shannon; 24 grandchildren and 16-great grandchildren as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, at the White Pass High School gym.
