Anneliese Dorothy (Frey) Tift

Anneliese Tift (Frey) of San Diego, California

Anneliese Dorothy (Frey) Tift was born on August 17, 1935 in Kalamazoo Michigan. Her parents Karl and Thekla (Riederer) both came to the US from Germany in the 1920s. The youngest of four sisters, Anneliese shared many fond memories of her youth despite enduring severe hardships during the Great Depression and World War II. She attended State High School, and Kalamazoo College, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. Anneliese married Thomas Tift, and had two children, Thomas Jr. and Trudy. They moved to San Diego in 1960 where they had two more children, Larry and Wendy. While raising her children, Anne was very active in community activities, including PTA. She had a life long fondness for swimming, which she combined with her love of music while performing with the Fin-ettes Synchronized Swimming Team in High School. She later passed on her zeal for the water to scores of children as a Red Cross backyard swim instructor.

When her youngest started school, Anne went back to San Diego State to earn a Master's Degree in Social Work. She was passionately devoted to her ensuing career as Psychiatric Social Worker at Children's Hospital, where she provided therapy to children and families for the next two decades.

Anneliese's commitment to helping others started very young. In her 20's she went to Europe with a Quaker work group to help rebuild from the devastation of the war. In the 60's she was very active in the Open Housing Movement to fight housing discrimination. Later in life, she found an outlet for her commitment to non-violence and social justice through her involvement with the local Unitarian Church. Anneliese dazzling smile exuded a relentless cheer and optimism in good times and bad. Annneliese passed away on January 27, 2024, having left the world a better place for her time here. She is survived by her long time partner Jon Nelson, her beloved sister Fran Camacho, her children Tom, Trudy, Larry, and Wendy, her grandchildren Rhiannon, Joel, Seth, Carson, Simone, Ethan and Lyndsay, as well as 7 great-grandchildren.

A celebration of her life will be held at the Hillcrest Unitarian Church on March 30, 2024 at 11:00, with a reception immediately following on the premises.