Anita Mae Elam, 61, of Charleston, West Virginia, passed away unexpectedly at her home on February 16th, 2023. Born July 19th, 1961 at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, she was the daughter of Stella and Mark Reinholt.

Anita attended and graduated from Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia and later joined the U.S. Navy in 1979. She proudly served our country for 8 years and left the service as a Petty Officer FIrst Class (E-6). She worked as an Ocean Systems Technician (OT) in the Navy, and often worked with the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), gathering intelligence on Russian submarines during the Cold War. She was awarded the U.S. Navy Good Conduct Medal. While serving in Hawaii she met her husband Greg Elam, who was also serving in the Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They were married 27 years, and had two children, Chiane and James Elam.

Anita was a creative woman, who outside her work, enjoyed writing poetry and literature. She valued education, and later received her A.S. degree in Computer Programming from the College of Lake County, Illinois. In her professional life after the military, she worked as a computer programmer in the Information Technology field. She spent many of these years working for various state agencies, including the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Anita was a hardworking professional, and she was respected for the knowledge brought to this challenging field. Most importantly she loved West Virginia.

She is survived by her son, James Elam of Charleston, West Virginia, her daughter, Chiane Elam of Los Angeles, California, ex-husband Greg (Vicki) Elam of Edgerton, WI, siblings John (Lisa) Reinholt of Renick, WV, Allen Reinholt and Violet Jones of Renick, WV, Bill Reinholt and Barbara Lyon of Renick, WV, Norma (Ralph) Humphreys of Milton, WV, nieces and nephews, Cora Reinholt, Donny Spry, Katie Cogar, Melissa Nenni (Scott) Smith, Mark Nenni, as well as many other dear friends and relatives. She is preceded in death by her brother Tom Morrison, nephew Dana, mother Stella Reinholt of Renick, WV, and her father, Mark Reinholt of Renick, WV. May she find peace and comfort in the arms of Jesus.