Anne Koski, 'Grandma Tic Tac,' 1916-2011

Every time Anne Koski saw her great-grandchildren she would make sure to spoil them with a treat. It was this habit that earned her the nickname among family of "Grandma Tic Tac."

“When my mom would come over every day she had a package of Tic Tacs in her purse, and she’d give them to the kids all the time, so we started calling her Grandma Tic Tac,” said her third child Cookie Rector.

When Grandma Tic Tac died of congestive heart failure on June 18 her great-grand children wanted her to know that their memory of her and the candy would always be with them.

“When they came and took her the day she passed away, we put a package of Tic Tacs in her hand, so she was never without Tic Tacs,” Rector said.

Koski passed away at the age of 94.

Born on Dec. 14, 1916 in Washington state, Koski met the love of her life Joe Koski, in the Native American town where they were raised called Hoquiam. The couple were married 41 years before Joe succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 1978.

After hearing how cheap property was in Imperial Beach in 1947, Joe and Anne left the Pacific Northwest to make Imperial Beach their home. When Koski and her husband arrived in the beach town they started their own bakery delivery business.

Rector said when her parents came to Imperial Beach, Palm Avenue was a dirt road with a horse stable where the McDonald’s is now.

Rector said her mother had very fond memories of her children growing up and spending time with their mother at the horse stable.

Once the city developed, Koski loved riding around IB on the bus.

"She used to get on bus and just ride the bus all the way around til it came back, and she wouldn’t get off. She just rode the bus,” Rector said.  

While all four of her children attended St. Charles Catholic School, Koski served as the president of the Mothers Club. Koski later became a member of St. James Lutheran Church. She also moved into St. James Plaza in 1984 when the building first opened.

Rector said of all the memories she has of her mother the thing she is going to miss the most is that one-of a kind smile her mother always had on her face.

“She was so happy all the time and always dressed up and had her jewelry on, and makeup and her hair done,” Rector said. “Grandma Tic Tac was the glue to our family and her life will live on in each one of us. We will keep her memories close to our hearts and her love dear to us always.”

Koski is survived by her four children, Joan Patterson, Joseph Koski, Cookie Rector and Andrew Koski, along with 12 grand-children, 26 great-grand children and two great-great-grandchildren.