Anne C. Nash

Anne C. Nash (nee Catherine Anne Cassat), 95, of Punta Gorda, FL, passed away on May 7, 2022. Anne was born on September 9, 1926, in Poughkeepsie, NY, daughter of Paul Clifford Cassat and Rowena Ehle Wilson Cassat. Anne spent the early years of her life in Poughkeepsie, Beaufort SC, Iowa City IA, then Springfield OH. It was in Springfield, during summer break from college, that she met Leighton (Pete) Nash, a naval officer, at the end of WWII. After a brief engagement, they were married in New York City on March 16, 1946, during the St. Patrick’s Day parade which delayed a few members of the bridal party! They made their first home in Minneapolis where Pete worked for Northwestern Bell and Anne received her degree in speech therapy from the University of Minnesota. With a growing family, the couple also lived in Des Moines IA, Omaha NE, Fargo ND, and eventually Ramsey NJ where they lived until Pete retired. Everywhere they lived, they made lasting friendships and thoroughly enjoyed a very active social life.

Family was very important to Anne throughout her lifetime. One of her greatest pleasures was researching and writing about family history and genealogies, which she did for over 50 years. While raising four daughters, she volunteered her services for a number of organizations including the League of Women Voters, numerous PTAs, the Ramsey ambulance corps, hospice, and every church with which she was affiliated. She also spearheaded a community effort to build the Ramsey Municipal Pool, and each fall helped make apple pies for their church fundraiser in Dummerston VT.

Anne and Pete loved to travel and were able to visit sites on six of the seven continents. When Pete retired from AT&T, the couple moved to their beautiful old home on Black Mountain in southern Vermont. They became “snowbirds” with the purchase of a condo at Burnt Store Marina in Florida where Anne enjoyed some tennis and a lot of golf! Her favorite place, however, was Pond Island where she loved to spend summers off the Maine coast. In her words, “it was a special place where the worries and cares of the outside world seem to fade away and one becomes reinvigorated for the coming days.”

Favorite times included visits with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, a special highlight being a Caribbean cruise with her four daughters just before the pandemic. She was a voracious reader, played a mean game of barrel house rummy, and loved playing bridge with her daughters online. She was well-loved by her nieces and nephews to whom she was “Aunt Annie,” and leaves behind many cherished friends as well.

Predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Henry Leighton Nash, Jr. (Pete), her sister Barbara Keleher, and her brother David Cassat.

Survived by daughters: Betsy (Steve) Homewood, Priscilla (Paul) Adler, Barbara Nash, and Jennifer Nash (Tony Toth); grandchildren: Stephanie Boozer, Brad (Amy) Homewood, Arin (Rich) Rumovicz, Tim (Leila) Adler, Allie Willenbrink (Brian Smith), Jane (Will) Henderling, Jessica (Chase) Meyers, Jason Ralston, Jeffrey Ralston, and 16 great-grandchildren: Izabella, Sophiya, and Wren Homewood; Palmer and Reece Boozer; Max, Charlotte and Greyson Rumovicz; Zia and Lucas Adler; Sadie and Sol Smith; Emmett and Norah Henderling; Hudson and Harrison Meyers.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Anne should go to the Maine Coast Heritage Fund or charity of choice. A memorial service for family and friends will be held at a later date in Dummerston VT.