Anita Bogsted Bilicki

Mrs. Anita Bogsted Bilicki, beloved wife, mother, sister, and grandmother, passed away Monday, March 29, 2021. Born in New York, NY and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY, she was the daughter of the late Carl Edward Bogsted and Marta Klaesson Bogsted.

Anita shared her life with her husband, Navy Captain Daniel R. Bilicki, USN (Ret.) for 64 years. Together they raised three sons, Robert, Stephen, and Neal. She and Dan began their life together in Pensacola, Florida, where Dan trained to become a Naval aviator and Officer. Florida was the first of many military relocations. Over the next 20 years, Anita and Dan lived in Rhode Island; California; New Jersey; Naples, Italy; Washington D.C.; and Virginia.

As the wife of a Naval pilot and officer, and mother of three young boys, Anita was extremely busy. Over the years she was very involved with the Navy Wives Club where she served as president, organized events, played bridge, and taught cooking to other wives. She was a compassionate person and became the Director of the Head Start Program at St. Mary’s Church in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as a volunteer in the church helping to place Vietnam refugees into society.

Anita was devoted to her sons as well. She volunteered as a Camp Counselor and was the Swimming Director at Camp Yawoca in North Kingston, Rhode Island. She believed in the art of homemaking and taught her sons how to sew, cook, clean, and even to iron!

As her sons got older, Anita pursued her interests in cooking, painting, and real estate. Anita became a licensed  real estate agent for Coldwell Banker in Alexandria, Virginia, and later, earned her degree in Culinary Arts from the Baltimore Culinary Institute. While working as a sous chef for the Omni Hotel in Baltimore, she decided to return to school and earned an additional degree in Hotel Management from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland.

In the 1980’s, she and Dan purchased a small house and a commercial building in Wachapreague, Virginia. There, she created “Deli by the Sea” and started a cooking school and catering business. As time went on, Anita pursued other passions. She loved gardening and became a member of the Eastern Shore Virginia Master Gardeners. As a talented painter, she painted alongside many of ESVA’s local artists and opened the Current Reflections Art Gallery in Wachapreague with her son, Robert, and daughter-in-law, Judy. In her spare time, Anita enjoyed swimming, fishing, the beach, and all the Eastern Shore’s popular activities. 

Her love for Wachapreague and the Eastern Shore has carried onto her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her talents, generosity, and compassion will be greatly missed, by not only her family, but by all of those with whom she shared her life.

Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 64 years, Daniel Robert “Dan” Bilicki, their sons, Robert F. “Bob” Bilicki and his wife, Julia Anne, and Stephen Richard “Steve” Bilicki and his wife, Kathy, all of Wachapreague, and Neal Harold Bilicki and his wife, Cathy, of Virginia Beach, VA; sister, Rina Johnson and her husband, John, of Mount Holly, NJ; grandchildren, Daniel Robert Bilicki II, Martha Bilicki Byrnes, Christopher Neal Moore, Daniel Neal Bilicki, and Grace Louise Bilicki; great-grandchildren, Caroline Rae Bilicki, Sloane Danielle Bilicki, Quinn Gabrielle Bilicki, and John Hamilton Byrnes IV. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister, Grace Bogsted Fay.

The family will gather privately to celebrate Anita’s life. Those who wish to honor her memory may do so by sending a donation in her name to the Wachapreague Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 390, Wachapreague, VA 23480.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com. 

Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.

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