LISBON FALLS – Anita Ellen (Pickens) Marenius, 66, of Lisbon Falls, passed away July 27, 2021, along with her husband Dennis, in a traffic collision in El Paso, Texas.

Anita was born Dec. 18, 1954, to Frederick and Mildred (Westerlund) Pickens in Gardiner. She graduated from Gardiner Area High School and Glen Clove Bible College. She married Dennis E. Marenius on April 5, 1980, and raised a daughter and son with him. Her education degree and love of independent thinking led her to homeschool both of her children through middle school. She had a gift for helping people find faith in their own abilities, a skill she used in her career as a reference librarian at the Lisbon Library and in years teaching adult education and GED prep classes.

Anita had a lifelong passion for photography and could often be found off the beaten path searching for the best angle and composition. Anything in the natural world, but flowers in particular, were favorite subjects for her lens. She was a skilled gardener, and an avid bicyclist, completing events like the Trek Across Maine several times.

Anita called Lisbon Falls home for more than 30 years. Whether through helping library patrons, her involvement with community gardens and a local co-op, or sharing a wholehearted love of Moxie, Anita was known by all for her readiness to help and her desire to better her community.

She retired in late 2019, and set out with Dennis for a well-earned life of leisure, filled with new experiences. And though the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 delayed some travels, it did nothing to subdue their thirst for adventure, or their gratitude for being able to do all of it together.

She is survived by her children, Nissa Marenius of Los Alamos, N.M. and Adric Marenius of El Paso, Texas; her mother, Mildred Pickens; her siblings Fredrick F. Pickens, Janice Pickens, and Jay Pickens; a niece, Jaycee Pickens; and grand-niece, all of South Gardiner.

She is predeceased by her father, Frederick E. Pickens; and sister, Julie Albert.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a family interment at Mt. Hope Cemetery in South Gardiner.

Local arrangements are entrusted with Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website: http://www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.