Obituary: Shoemaker, Anna Jane “Janie” (Keller”
Age 92
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 1 at 9:45 am at the Jesuit House Chapel on the Campus of Gonzaga University, 1106 N. Astor, Spokane, WA, behind St. Aloysius Church.
Our mother was born April 17, 1921 in Butte, Montana to Dr. Irvin Basil Keller, M.D.
and Helen Rebecca Stroh Keller.
She passed on May 26, 2013 to waltz once again with our father, George W. Shoemaker Sr., who predeceased her on August 18, 1991, both having departed on a Sunday.
Raised in Jane Lew, West (By-God) Virginia, she found her calling in public relations and sales in Washington D.C. in the early 50’s when she was the Executive Director of Public Relations for the National Arthritis Foundation.
She worked with members of Congress, the White House, and various corporations to obtain funds for arthritis research.
She came to Spokane with her husband and three children in 1956.
In her public relations and sales career she is generally credited with having opened and developed the convention business in Spokane.
She conducted business into her middle 80’s when she retired.
She is survived by her daughter, Georgeanna Jane Conrad (Charles), sons George Jr. (Sherry) and Mike (Francesca), grandchildren, Ashley Renee Shoemaker, Trevor Shoemaker (Samantha), Charles Conrad, Jr., and Michael George Conrad (Lindsey), and great grandchild Liam Michael Conrad.
Our mother described her life as “fun…lots and lots of fun.”
Her family and friends will celebrate her life.