Obituary for Ann McGovern (Williamson)
ANN WILLIAMSON McGOVERN
A stalwart community leader with an irrepressible urge to be useful and to make things better, and an inexhaustible ability to bring creative whimsy, song, and color to any context, Ann Williamson McGovern, 92, died unexpectedly in her Winchester apartment on Oct. 7th, 2022. Three generations of her loved ones intensely mourn her passing.
It is hard to think of anyone more constant in affection and commitment to the Town of Winchester than Ann McGovern. She served as President of the Wyman School Parents Association, President of the Winchester Wellesley Club, and President of the Winton Club. She chaired the patriotic 1976 Winton Club Cabaret, and performed and worked in every show. The annual Cabaret gave her the chance to sing, dance, drill, write, paint scenery, invent elaborate props and costumes (and keep all of them in her attics, basement, and garage), recruit volunteers, perform tambourine routines with her revered “Tambos” - and every year, cook up a huge pre- and post- show dinner party.
She served on the Board of Directors of Winchester Hospital and on the Board of Christian Education at the Parish of the Epiphany. She did heartfelt decades of environmental work for her beloved Winter Pond, pulling out invasive species, leading clean-ups, working tirelessly for community awareness and education, and of course, serving a term as President of the Friends of Winter Pond. Overseeing a giant hydro-raking of the pond was a proud highlight.
She served in almost every elected position in five elementary schools, at Lynch Jr. High School, and at the High School. She always battled for increased school funding. Just as Ann did not limit her educational service work to when her four daughters were in school, neither did she limit the span of her service as a Girl Scout Leader. There were years when it seemed as if she had led every girl in Winchester.
She raised funds and chaired rummage sales to enable the expansion of the Winchester Library. She was an active member of the ENKA society for over 40 years. She assisted with countless school plays and community theater productions. She volunteered for the the Florence Crittenton League, the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. She volunteered weekly in the Winchester Hospital Gift Shop and at Epiphany’s church office, for decades. She worked at every Town Day. She delivered meals on wheels until her late eighties.
In recognition of her devoted service, in 1996 she was named Winchester’s Citizen of the Year. She was so embarrassed by it that she stuck all of the plaques and citations in one of her overstuffed attics - and then went right back to work, and performed 26 more years of her non- stop service.
“Annie Will” was born on Sept. 7, 1930, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to George and Mary Williamson. Despite being born into the Great Depression, and despite being an only child, she had a great childhood, filled with friends and adventures. Until the 10th grade she lived on a block of duplexes with a long stretch of undivided yards: “so we had a huge field to play on, and zillions of kids.” Her Williamson and Stevenson grandparents both owned homes on Lake Minnetonka, where Ann played with her two younger cousins, Chuck and Jimmy Lane, whom she adored.
She loved her grade school - but she blocked out all memories of Jr. High except for throwing pudding out a cooking class window. She had many close friends at her beloved West High. After graduating she bravely decided to go east, to Wellesley, in order to broaden her horizons. She had four of the very best years of her life there. She lived with 26 women in a freshman year house, and felt as if she had been gifted sisters. Despite being scattered across the country, she kept old and made new Wellesley friends her whole life, including learning how to host zoom meetings during Covid. As a loyal alum, she never lost connection with the school itself: she gave tours, recruited and evaluated Winchester applicants, and was thrilled to run class reunions.
After graduating from Wellesley, Ann started out working for Time magazine in New York City, until she secured a position doing the work she loved, as a social worker at the Brooklyn Bureau of Social Service and Children’s Aid Society. She planned to go to graduate school there, but she met a new attorney, Lane McGovern, on a double date with his roommate. Six months later she married Lane during a Minneapolis blizzard. They moved to Boston, where Lane started with Ropes & Gray, and Ann continued with social work, at Massachusetts General Hospital. They lived on Beacon Hill until they “temporarily” moved to Winchester, where they raised their family and shared 62 years of marriage - only ending in 2014, after Ann cared for Lane through ten years of Alzheimer’s.
Ann taught her family empathy and she modeled resilience. She also infected each of her many descendants with a devoted love of Moody Beach, Maine and Sanibel Island, Florida. She passed along to her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren the secrets of making impressive drip castles and tennis ball whirly towers, of riding the surf, and of finding the best shells and creatures.
Survivors include daughters and sons-in-law Susan Ann McGovern (Arlington), Sara & Paul Morrissey (Winchester), Lisa McGovern & Jay Wallace (Beverly) and Laura McGovern (Harvard); seven grandchildren, three granddaughters-in-law, and eight great-grandchildren: Paul & Nicole Morrissey, Harlan, Noa, Sawyer (TX), James & Aly Morrissey, Avery, Owen (CT), Brian & Julia Morrissey, Lane, Finn, Jack (NY); Marlana Ann Wallace (D.C), Jacqueline Wallace (NYC), Malcolm Wallace (VT), and Isabella Carlo (Boston); as well as cousins James Lane (MN) and Chuck Lane (WI) and sisters-in-law Judy McGovern (RI) and Marge McGovern (TX), and their families.
The funeral will be Saturday, October 15, at 10:00 a.m., at the Parish of the Epiphany, 70 Church Street, Winchester. A reception in Hadley Hall will follow. Committal service will occur after the reception. Friends and family are welcome. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to the Parish of the Epiphany Endowment Fund.
A stalwart community leader with an irrepressible urge to be useful and to make things better, and an inexhaustible ability to bring creative whimsy, song, and color to any context, Ann Williamson McGovern, 92, died unexpectedly in her Winchester apartment on Oct. 7th, 2022. Three generations of her loved ones intensely mourn her passing.
It is hard to think of anyone more constant in affection and commitment to the Town of Winchester than Ann McGovern. She served as President of the Wyman School Parents Association, President of the Winchester Wellesley Club, and President of the Winton Club. She chaired the patriotic 1976 Winton Club Cabaret, and performed and worked in every show. The annual Cabaret gave her the chance to sing, dance, drill, write, paint scenery, invent elaborate props and costumes (and keep all of them in her attics, basement, and garage), recruit volunteers, perform tambourine routines with her revered “Tambos” - and every year, cook up a huge pre- and post- show dinner party.
She served on the Board of Directors of Winchester Hospital and on the Board of Christian Education at the Parish of the Epiphany. She did heartfelt decades of environmental work for her beloved Winter Pond, pulling out invasive species, leading clean-ups, working tirelessly for community awareness and education, and of course, serving a term as President of the Friends of Winter Pond. Overseeing a giant hydro-raking of the pond was a proud highlight.
She served in almost every elected position in five elementary schools, at Lynch Jr. High School, and at the High School. She always battled for increased school funding. Just as Ann did not limit her educational service work to when her four daughters were in school, neither did she limit the span of her service as a Girl Scout Leader. There were years when it seemed as if she had led every girl in Winchester.
She raised funds and chaired rummage sales to enable the expansion of the Winchester Library. She was an active member of the ENKA society for over 40 years. She assisted with countless school plays and community theater productions. She volunteered for the the Florence Crittenton League, the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. She volunteered weekly in the Winchester Hospital Gift Shop and at Epiphany’s church office, for decades. She worked at every Town Day. She delivered meals on wheels until her late eighties.
In recognition of her devoted service, in 1996 she was named Winchester’s Citizen of the Year. She was so embarrassed by it that she stuck all of the plaques and citations in one of her overstuffed attics - and then went right back to work, and performed 26 more years of her non- stop service.
“Annie Will” was born on Sept. 7, 1930, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to George and Mary Williamson. Despite being born into the Great Depression, and despite being an only child, she had a great childhood, filled with friends and adventures. Until the 10th grade she lived on a block of duplexes with a long stretch of undivided yards: “so we had a huge field to play on, and zillions of kids.” Her Williamson and Stevenson grandparents both owned homes on Lake Minnetonka, where Ann played with her two younger cousins, Chuck and Jimmy Lane, whom she adored.
She loved her grade school - but she blocked out all memories of Jr. High except for throwing pudding out a cooking class window. She had many close friends at her beloved West High. After graduating she bravely decided to go east, to Wellesley, in order to broaden her horizons. She had four of the very best years of her life there. She lived with 26 women in a freshman year house, and felt as if she had been gifted sisters. Despite being scattered across the country, she kept old and made new Wellesley friends her whole life, including learning how to host zoom meetings during Covid. As a loyal alum, she never lost connection with the school itself: she gave tours, recruited and evaluated Winchester applicants, and was thrilled to run class reunions.
After graduating from Wellesley, Ann started out working for Time magazine in New York City, until she secured a position doing the work she loved, as a social worker at the Brooklyn Bureau of Social Service and Children’s Aid Society. She planned to go to graduate school there, but she met a new attorney, Lane McGovern, on a double date with his roommate. Six months later she married Lane during a Minneapolis blizzard. They moved to Boston, where Lane started with Ropes & Gray, and Ann continued with social work, at Massachusetts General Hospital. They lived on Beacon Hill until they “temporarily” moved to Winchester, where they raised their family and shared 62 years of marriage - only ending in 2014, after Ann cared for Lane through ten years of Alzheimer’s.
Ann taught her family empathy and she modeled resilience. She also infected each of her many descendants with a devoted love of Moody Beach, Maine and Sanibel Island, Florida. She passed along to her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren the secrets of making impressive drip castles and tennis ball whirly towers, of riding the surf, and of finding the best shells and creatures.
Survivors include daughters and sons-in-law Susan Ann McGovern (Arlington), Sara & Paul Morrissey (Winchester), Lisa McGovern & Jay Wallace (Beverly) and Laura McGovern (Harvard); seven grandchildren, three granddaughters-in-law, and eight great-grandchildren: Paul & Nicole Morrissey, Harlan, Noa, Sawyer (TX), James & Aly Morrissey, Avery, Owen (CT), Brian & Julia Morrissey, Lane, Finn, Jack (NY); Marlana Ann Wallace (D.C), Jacqueline Wallace (NYC), Malcolm Wallace (VT), and Isabella Carlo (Boston); as well as cousins James Lane (MN) and Chuck Lane (WI) and sisters-in-law Judy McGovern (RI) and Marge McGovern (TX), and their families.
The funeral will be Saturday, October 15, at 10:00 a.m., at the Parish of the Epiphany, 70 Church Street, Winchester. A reception in Hadley Hall will follow. Committal service will occur after the reception. Friends and family are welcome. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to the Parish of the Epiphany Endowment Fund.