ANNA MACHMER

MACHMER ANNA CATHERINE KUHN MACHMER May 2, 1919 ~June 10, 2017 Anna Machmer was born to immigrant parents, Anna Stefulik Kuhn and Henry Kuhn in Union Bridge Maryland, in 1919. The family that included Anna and her seven siblings, relocated from Maryland and settled in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was there that Ann attended high school, and often spoke of her enjoyment in the after school sports. She and her siblings frequently romped in the nearby Schuylkill River. Her love of swimming and beach going began there. Ann began working at the Berkshire Knitting Mills in Reading during the height of the Depression in 1937 until 1942. It was there that she met the love of her life, Wellington Richard Machmer, from Wernersville, Pennsylvania. She began working at Dupont Chemical, making anti-aircraft shell detonators in 1942. On January 27, 1943 she and Wellington married and she continued working for the war effort while he was first stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, and later, during his deployment overseas. From 1944 to 1945 her job involved etching manuscripts onto tin plates. Upon her husband's return from the war in 1946, they were stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, where Anna worked as a typist in the Ft. Belvoir Research Laboratory. Then later, as a childcare worker on the base at Ft. Belvoir, Anna's claim to fame was looking after President Eisenhower's grandchildren, Susan and David. Ann and her husband raised their two sons in the Rose Hill subdivision of Alexandria, Virginia, where they resided from 1955 until the present. They were in the founding group and were current members of St. Johns Lutheran Church, as well as being members of the Rose Hill Civic Association.Ann also enjoyed singing, and had been a church choir member. Together, the Ann and Wellington created a beautiful park like setting in their yard, where they grew many vegetables and flowers along with transplants from Pennsylvania and Minnesota. The spectaculor azaleas bordering their yard frequently led to a seasonal tour for visitors. Ann was a self-taught, very talented seamstress. Making her own drapes and slipcovers, dresses, suits, and coats, she also made many shirts and ties for her husband, sons and grandson. She created many adorable outfits for her grandaughter throughout her childhood. She was even employed as a seamstress at Vanity Fair in 1946.There was no sewing project she couldn't tackle. She also enjoyed baking, gardening and crafting birdhouses, and she easily found her way around a hammer and nails, doing home projects. Very artistic, she enjoyed painting with oils, and many of those works grace her home as well as those of her family members. Following her husband's retirement in 1976, the couple was able to travel abroad to several countries where they visited distant relatives in Germany and brushed up on their German speaking skills. Both Ann and her husband died at the age of 98, having lived very healthy and active lives together. Nearly up until the time of her death, Ann still enjoyed her pastimes of scrabble games with her friends and family, sending emails to her relatives, and doing the daily crosswords. It was also very important to her to stay informed on current events. Ann was the last survivor among her siblings. In 2014, she was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 72 years, Wellington Richard Machmer. She is survived by her sons, Richard Wellington (Wendy), Duluth, Minnesota and Ronald William (Grace), Rose Hill, Virginia; grandchildren, Christopher and Amy (Doug), Duluth, Minnesota; step-granddaughters, Lori (Karl), Virginia, and Jean (Kim) and step-great-granddaughter, Erica, New York, as well as several nieces and nephews. Ann will be dearly missed by her family, especially for her young at heart attitude and her ever-present sense of humor and loving nature. She was always a generous and practical person, and in that same spirit she chose to donate her body to the Virginia State Anatomical Program Medical School in Richmond, Virginia.Ann will be dearly missed by her family, especially for her young at heart attitude and her ever-present sense of humor and loving nature. She was always a generous and practical person, and in that same spirit she chose to donate her body to the Virginia State Anatomical Program Medical School in Richmond, Virginia.