Born on June 20, 1946, Nola Janine (Anderson) Beeler entered this world at the Oak Harbor hospital. Archie & Ellen Anderson of Jones Road in North Whidbey were the proud parents.

Her childhood was spent playing endlessly with siblings, cousins, and friends in the wheat fields and pastures of the family farm. The family moved south to Seattle in 1956 where her father began a business venture, the Elephant Car Wash, where she occasionally worked. She graduated from Edmonds High School in 1964 and went to the U of W where she obtained a master's degree in nursing. Employment with Group Health followed where she worked as a visiting nurse for a number of years.

Nola loved the outdoors and spent many days skiing. On a day in September 1977 at Mt. Baker a fellow named Thomas spied her and asked her out on a date. They discovered they had mutual interests in hiking, camping, skiing, and folk dancing. To nobody's surprise they were engaged in short order. Marriage took place soon and the children came soon thereafter. Travel was a favorite family pastime, sometimes to the ancestral homeland of Scandinavia.

Soon Nola switched from her nursing career to parenthood. And this led to cooperative preschools where she discovered her true passion was working with small children. After a period of volunteering with preschools and active leadership roles in the PTA, she took full time employment as director of the Lake Forest Park Co-op Preschool.

This lasted for thirteen years until 2002 when a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease forced her to take an early retirement. Then, grandchildren began to appear, giving her an opportunity to once again nurture the small ones. The backyard of her Edmonds home served as an ideal playground.

Eventually she and her husband Tom moved north to Anacortes bringing her back close to her idyllic childhood home. And yet again she eagerly took on responsibilities to support the community by taking an active role in the Kiwanis Club.

Nola survived over 21 years with Parkinson's disease. During that time, she led and helped found support groups for persons with Parkinsonism, contributed to seminars and symposia, and tirelessly supported the Northwest Parkinson's Foundation.

Nola is survived by her husband Thomas, daughters Annalisa and Karina, and stepdaughter Tori Smith. Grandchildren include Ahren, Haley, Carter, and Ember. She is also survived by sisters Lana Weed, Carmen Bolton and brother Adrian Anderson. There are also numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews dotting the landscape of Whidbey Island, Skagit County and Western Washington.
A Memorial Service will be held, 1:00 pm, Friday, October 29, 2021, at the Anacortes Westminster Presbyterian Church, followed by a Reception at the Croatian Cultural Center on the corner of 5th Street and R Avenue.

Remembrances may be made in her name to the Northwest Parkinson's Foundation, nwpf.org . In lieu of flowers, persons are asked to plant a garden or a tree in her honor. To share memories of Nola, please sign the online guestbook at www.evanschapel.com

Click here to view Nola's Memorial Video: https://vimeo.com/640551174/487137ca46