Anaheim High Class of 1944 alumna Gania Demaree Trotter died peacefully at home in the loving presence of her family members. Gania’s father, Dr. Paul H. Demaree, was principal of Anaheim Union High School from 1941 to 1954. In 2014, Gania established an endowed scholarship in her father’s name that has been awarded since to graduating Colonists.
Gania stayed close with her classmates, including her best friend, Kathryn (Gauer) Kopitzke. Friends going back to kindergarten at Horace Mann Elementary School, together they attended the YMCA’s Camp Oceola, worked as soda jerks at Jackson Drug Store and as waitresses at Knott’s Berry Farm.
While a student at Anaheim High, Gania was president of Girls’ League and the Girls’ Reserve. She also was a member of the school choir and an honor student.
Gania returned to her alma mater for a short time in the 1950s to serve as choral director. She also served as a guest speaker in 2019 for “The Poston Experience – Paving the Way for the Next Generations.” Presented in Cook Auditorium, the event was a rare opportunity to witness the testimony of Anaheim’s Japanese families who were incarcerated in camps during WWII.
Dr. Demaree was principal at Anaheim High during WWII when 50 students of Japanese descent were forced to leave their homes and relocate to the camps. Poignant in that Demaree was born in Japan to missionary parents, he was especially vocal in speaking out against discrimination toward Japanese-Americans, a courageous position to take considering the war fervor at the time.
As a musician and choral director, an arts development administrator, a political activist, and a devoted friend, Gania’s energetic intellect and vibrant personality enriched the lives of every person and community she encountered.
Gania grew up in Southern CA and earned a degree in choral music from Occidental College (1949) and a MA in Education from Columbia Teachers College (1952). She married the Rev. Dr. F. Thomas Trotter in 1953 and helped him establish Montclair Methodist Church in 1956.
In their 66 years of marriage, they supported each other through a wide array of professional and personal adventures in the service of many communities and callings. They were a loving, supportive and inspiring presence to their children and many extended family members.
In her university days, Gania studied choral music with Howard Swan and sang with Robert Shaw. Later, she was director of Choral Music at John Muir College. In the 1960s and 70s, she directed other choral groups, including the adult and youth choirs at Claremont UMC.
After moving to Nashville, TN in 1973, Gania devoted much of her energy to volunteer work in education and social services. She was a principal architect of a group whose work established major reforms in Nashville’s public schools. She was an active member of West End UMC, singing in the chancel choir and serving on many committees that shaped the congregational life. Professionally, her work as Director of Development for Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music enabled Gania to merge her love for music, education and community outreach.
In 1988, Gania and Tom moved to Anchorage, where Tom was President of Alaska Pacific University, and Gania built up the school’s development program. During this time, Gania and Tom were also deeply engaged in the founding and development of Africa University, a Pan-African and United Methodist-related institution in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
After retiring in 1995, Gania returned to work as Director of Development for Claremont School of Theology (1999-2001). In her post-retirement years, Gania remained active in political, environmental and arts groups, and held leadership and service positions at Mount San Antonio Gardens.
In 2017, she published her memoirs: a book cherished by many family members and friends. Gania is survived by her children, Ruth Elizabeth Trotter (Brett Watterson), Tania Trotter Batson (Greg Batson) and Mary Kathleen Trotter (Robert Kaufman); grand-children Thomas, Daniel and Wesley Batson; step-grandchildren Travis Watterson (Meetra), Ryan Watterson, and Rachel Azevedo (Lucas); and numerous beloved sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews.
Gania was predeceased by her husband Tom, parents Paul Holland and Mary Sunnen Demaree, siblings Kay Bean, Ruth Preston and Daniel Demaree, and daughter Paula Anne.
