Lita S. Bowman

Born in 1927 in Puerto Rico to a wealthy coffee and sugar cane plantation owner and his family. Lita's father lost all his assets in the great stock market crash 2 years later. The family left for a better life in New York City in 1936. Lita's Spanish name was "Estrellita", which translates to "Little Star", but when she arrived in New York, she shortened it to "Lita". Because she was optimistic and talkative, she was given the nickname "Sparky". As a teenage girl, she found work at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, as did several of her brothers and sisters. It was there she was told by actor Wallace Beery to head west and "see the world". Her brother Angel was murdered, so Lita took his I.D. card and joined the Women's Army Corps. After her 2 year stint, she found herself in San Francisco in 1946 and married a rodeo cowboy and cabinet maker named Robert Clifton Anderson. They were to have 2 children, Leslie Ann and Christian. She became a single mother after only 3 years of marriage. Havin