Anne, 85, spent most of her life volunteering. She was very active in her three daughters’ lives. She volunteered with the Girl Scouts for fifteen years acting as the chairman for her district. She oversaw hundreds of young girls in dozens of Girl Scout troops ensuring that they would develop into well rounded young women. When she wasn’t working with the Girl Scouts, you would find Anne volunteering at her local church. She loved to sing and volunteered as the choir director for both young children and grown adults.
Anne, a school teacher, also started a high school band at South Greene High School in Greeneville, Tennessee. One night, the bass drummer didn’t show up the evening of a huge football game. At half-time, Anne put on the large drum and marched beside her class! The show must go on! To this day, the band exists and has grown to a 100 plus member marching band and concert band. Her name has been placed on the door of the band room to honor her dedication.
In her 85 years of life, Anne has dealt with some serious tragedy. Ten years ago, her middle daughter passed away. The loss of a child is unbearable for any parent to face, but Anne continues to stay positive and says “I think if people look at my life, they will see that I didn’t just sit around and wait for the time to pass, I stayed positive, lived in the moment, and always looked toward the future.”
Anne went on a month-long group trip to Ireland, Scotland and England in the 80s. The group of 20-30 people were supposed to spend 9 days in Ireland, but she and her husband took the road less traveled and ventured out on their own. They stayed at a B&B where they served complimentary breakfast and lunch, but for dinner they would go to the local pubs. “They were all so kind and just absolutely hilarious!” says Anne, “and the Shepherd’s pie was to die for!”
Anne cherishes this trip to Ireland to this day and her Wish of a Lifetime is to go to an Irish Pub to celebrate her love of the Irish. We were ecstatic to partner with Brookdale and make this wish come true! Thank you to Brogues Down Under in Boynton Beach for making Anne her favorite dish, Shepherd’s Pie and thank you to the Aranmore Academy of Irish Dance for performing for Anne and making her evening so much more special! And thank you to Gabriel of Weefan Photography for documenting Anne’s Wish of a Lifetime!
