Obituary of Anne Therese Minder

Sis Minder, beloved mother, sister and friend, left this earth on Saturday, August 17, 2013. She had reached eighty five years and passed peacefully after a final, quick health challenge at Lake Regional Health Center in Osage Beach, Missouri. Sis, whose given name was Anne Therese Minder, was born on May 29, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA. She was the last girl in a family of six children, four girls and two boys. The family was devoutly Catholic and one sister, Mary, became a nun in the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. Sis attended Little Flower grade school and high school and led an active, happy life in the big family. Her father, Joseph P. Cogan, was a prominent public defender in Philadelphia. In 1950 she married Alex Minder and started a family. For a short period they were stationed in Mechanicsburg, PA, then moved back to Willow Grove, PA to buy their first home. Life and Al's job moved them to St. Louis, MO in 1958 where they lived and raised their daughter and two sons, Anne Therese, Alex and Greg. Sis was a devoted, understanding mother to her children, always there to lend a mother's help and love. Over time, as they planned for retirement, they began visiting Lake of the Ozarks and fell in love with its beauty. Al was able to transfer his job location and Sis found secretarial positions in the area so that they could begin construction on their lake house many years ahead of retirement age. They moved into the home they designed themselves, a somewhat revolutionary earth sheltered home, in 1983 where Sis and Al completed many aspects of the beautiful home with their own hands. Sis also water-skied until Al told her it was time to stop when she was 65, and she was not happy about that. Sis dove into life at the lake and joined many lake area groups such as Newcomer's Club, Wednesday Workshop at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, an active card playing group and she also volunteered at Lake Regional Health Center. She loved her neighbors and friends she made and they were absolutely central in her life. In spite of the frustrations she had with new technology, her cell phone always rang with calls from her girlfriends back at home when she was away and she happily chatted and kept up with their every detail. Sis also had a huge creative streak, starting with making ceramics in St. Louis and continuing with the many fundraising projects she worked on with the ladies at Wednesday Workshop. When she traveled she always looked for beautiful or unusual materials she could bring home and contribute. Mended Hearts and Lake Regional Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab at the hospital greatly influenced Sis's life and undoubtedly gave her many extra, quality years. For twelve years she consistently worked out with Bonnie two or three times a week, only missing if she was visiting children or juggling social commitments. Her last visit to rehab was just a day or two before her final hospitalization. Sis is survived by her brother, Joseph Cogan of Naples, Florida and by her three children, Anne Therese, Alec and Greg. She has two grandchildren, Alexander and Emily and one great grandchild, Jacob. She also has seven nieces and nephews centered around Philadelphia, PA. Sis will be laid to rest next to her husband and her family in Philadelphia, PA.