Anastasia Dianna Morgan
Sound when stretched is music. Movement when stretched is dance. Mind when stretched is meditation. Life when stretched is celebration." -unknown
Obituary
Anastasia Dianna Morgan, of Los Angeles, California, passed away from cancer on September 27, 2024 in Yucca Valley. She was 59. Her life was filled with exploring, traveling, learning, meditating and growing. Anastasia was a brilliant, vibrant adventurer with an infectious laugh. She loved connecting with people and easily shared a moment and a smile with them.
Anastasia was born in Munich, Germany to Ourania Gkaintatzi and Theodoros Zahariadou, of Metaxades, Greece and adopted at age 3 by Sergeant David V. Morgan (Maryland) and Yukiko F. Morgan (Japan), who raised her in Spanaway, Washington. Anastasia was always eager to learn, was active in school organizations, played on the girls basketball team, and was student body president of her high school. Many of Anastasia's childhood friendships lasted a lifetime, and in August, she was thrilled to attend her fortieth high school reunion where she enjoyed connecting and reconnecting with longtime friends.
Despite the devastating loss of her father due to a heart attack in 1984, Anastasia graduated from Washington State University, where she studied Communications and Japanese. She studied abroad in Japan her senior year at Nihon Fine Arts University and stayed to live in Tokyo for six more years while working for Warner Brothers. She traveled much of southeast asia with friends at the time.
In 1995, Anastasia moved back to Spanaway to stay close to her mother in her final year. After her mother passed away from cancer, she spent a short time in New York City and moved to Los Angeles in 1996. She lived in Culver City for many years. The early years, she participated in the California Aids Ride, now known as the Aids LIfecycle, riding her bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and she became devoted to Landmark Education personal development courses where she developed some lifelong friendships. In LA, she worked for Disney, Investor’s Business Daily, and Goldline International, which piqued her interest in investing and day trading, which became a lifelong passion.
In the late 1990s, Anastasia began the search for her birth mother. In 2004, she learned that she had not one but three other sisters searching for her too. All four sisters, traveling from 3 different countries, were reunited in Germany in 2006.
At the same time, in the early 2000’s, Anastasia began a spiritual quest. She completed a three-year course with Science of the Mind, and attended the Agape International Spiritual Center, where she studied under Reverend Joanne and worked as a spiritual practitioner. She was a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism through Soka Gakkai International and devoutly involved in 12-step programs. In 2009, she stepped onto a journey of spiritual transformation. She leaned on all these practices and spiritual teachings throughout her life and at the end before she transitioned.
In 2010, Anastasia traveled to India, Israel and Greece. She began to write about her life and was inspired to begin a blog, titled, The Quilted One – Exploring Adoption, Addiction and Ascension, https://thequiltedone.wordpress.com/. She had hoped to write a book of the same title, but life had other plans for her.
She married Barbara Adams in August, 2017 at the Culver City courthouse. They enjoyed their home in Inglewood, where Anastasia perfected the “other” pizza, which meant healthy and delicious, and started an AirBNB business. For a time, Anastasia traveled between Los Angeles and Yucca Valley before moving there more permanently. She and Barbara, surrounded by family and friends, renewed their vows at a wedding in November 2022. They separated in April, 2024.
In 2019 Anastasia was a proud Pre-Apprentice Trainee with Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles (WINTER), a non-profit work development program whose mission is to train, educate, and prepare women for transformative careers in the construction industry. Here she honed her construction skills she learned at a young age from her father and developed an interest in alternative energy. She successfully transitioned into positions with Grid Alternatives and then Tesla Energy.
Throughout her life, Anastasia was always interested in holistic health, athleticism, and eastern healing practices. When she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, she began a health quest and discovered the ancient healing practice of chi nei sang. Ever the lifelong learner, she traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand in January 2022 in order to get certified as a practitioner herself.
In recent years, Anastasia was a devoted regular at the local Yucca Valley businesses and eateries. She could be found at the Joshua Tree farmers market and made friends wherever she went and enjoyed strong friendships with neighbors in her final months. She continued to travel to Los Angeles as often as she could relying on her network of generous friends for support. She maintained to the end a commitment to her personal consciousness and spiritual connection.
Anastasia is survived by her older sister Annamarie Morgan, her niece, Crystal, and her great-nephew, her younger sisters, Anna Patterson of Temple, Texas and Eleni of Genise Xanthi, Greece, and older sister Catrin, in Germany.
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She is part of my daily life as a result of that impact!
I love you soul sister!! So grateful to have been a part of your journey! Until we meet again 💔 heartbroken without you!
Memories of this intelligent, mindful and passionate human being/bestie!!
There is a hole in my heart since she passed away, never to be forgotten.
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