Myrna Antonich

Myrna C. Antonich, longtime Ellensburg resident, passed away surrounded by family on June 30, 2018 in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Myrna was born August 21, 1942 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. She grew up in the Devil's Lake area of North Dakota. After high school graduation, Myrna moved to Seattle where she met and married Vince Burke and they were blessed with three children before the marriage ended in divorce.

Myrna later attended technical college in Olympia, studying computer programming which was certainly an advanced topic for the era. After completing her education, she took a job with the Department of Natural Resources. In 1969, Myrna met a handsome young solider named Joe Antonich while he was stationed at Fort Lewis. They were married in 1971 and made their home on a farm in the Rochester, Washington before moving to the Antonich Farm in Ellensburg in 1976. Myrna and Joe were blessed with two daughters.

Myrna was involved in and volunteered for innumerable things in which her children were involved. Many Ellensburg youth considered her their "second mother." When her children got older she took part-time secretarial jobs at Central Washington University. This part-time work eventually turned into a full time administrative assistant position for the Dean of Arts & Humanities until her retirement from CWU in 2004.

Myrna was active in the Ellensburg community and her church. She served as a religious education instructor and youth group leader at St. Andrew's Catholic Church for many years. She was also active with the Kittitas County Search and Rescue, Red Cross, and the KVH Hospital. After Myrna and Joe retired in 2004 they filled their time with outdoors activities and extensive travel. They enjoyed years of snowmobiling, following by the purchase of Windarra, their sailboat. Sailboat adventures took them up the Inland Passage to Alaska, and they relished many leisurely and extensive trips in the Puget Sound and British Columbia. Some of their other adventuresome travels include a Big Ship trip from Argentina to Antarctica to South Africa, an African Safari, and a cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam in October 2017. Myrna loved living life fully. She found God and peace in the outdoors, sunsets, in God's creatures, and the people she loved.

She was diagnosed with sarcoma in December 2017, and she was given six short months to relish the precious gift of life-which she did gratefully and courageously. Myrna is survived by her husband, Joe; children Richard Burke, Mark (Jeryl) Burke, Muriel (Christopher) Love, Michelle (Seth) Cowan, and Melanie (Eric) Antonich-Miller, 16 grandchildren + (one more on the way), and three great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother Jerry (Nancy) Andrews. Myrna was preceded in death by her parents Frank and Myrtle (Ness) Andrews, sister Jean Tidd, and brother Bob Andrews.

A recitation of the Rosary was at 7:00 p.m. Monday, July 9 at Steward & Williams Funeral Home. Preceding the Rosary the family greeted friends at the funeral home from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 10 at St. Andrew's Catholic Church in Ellensburg with burial to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. A reception will follow the burial back at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Myrna's honor are suggested to the Kittitas County Search & Rescue (PO Box1494, Ellensburg), Hospice of the Northwest (227 Freeway Dr A, Mt. Vernon, WA 98273), the World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org) or to the Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org) Steward & Williams Funeral Home and Crematory of Ellensburg has been entrusted with caring for Myrna's family. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.steward-williams.com