Anna (Freda) Nicholas Obituary (1916 - 2009)

On February 27, 2009 at 5:35pm God called Anna Nicholas home to heaven. Anna was born in Rankin, Pennsylvania to Carmela and Marco Freda who immigrated from Rivisondoli, Italy in the early 1900s. She grew up in Rankin with her nine brothers and sisters (including her twin brother Julius); they were a close-knit family who worked together to make it though some of the most challenging times in our nation's history. Anna loved to tell the stories of the good times the Freda family had, even in the face of adversity. She would proudly say that she lived through the Great Depression, two world wars and came out of it all even stronger. In 1982, five years after the death of her husband Joseph Nicholas, Anna moved from the Pittsburgh area to the warmer climate of Tucson, Arizona where other family members reside. She loved baking (cookies and pies were her specialties), working on craft projects and was very involved with her church; she sang in the choir, served as a Eucharistic Minister and was a member of The Society of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Anna was also an active member in Beta Sigma Phi sorority and was honored as her chapter's 2006 Woman of the Year. She will be dearly missed by her sorority sisters who loved her like a member of their own family.