Anita Johnson Westerhaus

Anita Johnson Westerhaus, 74, passed away November 10, 2022, at home, surrounded by the love of her family. The cause was leukemia; she also lived for many years, with dignity and courage, with multiple sclerosis, fortified throughout by her Catholic faith. Anita was born August 25, 1948, in Rock Rapids, Iowa, to Kermit and Evelyn Moen Johnson, and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. Anita took up her mother’s passion for the cello at an early age. After graduation from Roosevelt High School in 1966, she attended Drake University in Des Moines, where she majored in cello performance and won honors as a young artist. During the summer of 1967, she traveled to Lawrence, KS, to study cello and work as a counselor at the Midwestern Music and Art Camp at the University of Kansas. There she met the love of her life, a fellow counselor, Donald Westerhaus, in June 1967. She and Donald were married two years later and celebrated 50 years together in December 2019. Along the way, Anita discovered an even greater love for teaching music to children and held positions over 15 years teaching elementary school music in Rhode Island, Kansas, and West Des Moines, Iowa. During that time, she taught piano lessons to pay for her masters and education specialist degrees at Drake and for 17 years was principal of Sacred Heart Elementary School in West Des Moines. She brought the light of learning and a love of music to thousands of students during her career. Under her leadership, Sacred Heart was named a National Blue Ribbon School, and Anita was recognized as a National Distinguished Principal both by the National Catholic Education Association and the U.S. Department of Education. She was appointed to serve on the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners by Governor Tom Vilsack. Anita is survived by her husband of 53 years, Donald, of Bloomington, IN; children, Andrew (Barbara), of Philadelphia, PA, and Jennifer Adams (Michael) of Bloomington; grandchildren, Oliver and Amelia Adams, and Charles, Louis and August Westerhaus; brother, Dixon Johnson, and sister-in-law, Carolyn Johnson, Palm Desert, CA; and countless friends. She was preceded in death by her parents. Following cremation, a celebration of her life with a Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10 a.m., Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at St. Paul Catholic Center in Bloomington, with a reception to follow. Livestream of the Mass is tentatively planned on the parish website, hoosiercatholic.org. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the American Red Cross and that anyone who is able consider donating blood. For a direct link to the Indiana Red Cross Blood Donation Program in Anita's memory, please visit https://www.redcross.org/donate/disaster-relief.html/?cid=dmappeal&med=direct&source=dm&scode=RSG00002MCLT

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Anita Johnson Westerhaus

August 25, 1948 - November 10, 2022