Ann M. Spencer
Ann M. Spencer of Trumbull, Ct., aged 91, passed away while comforted by her family on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport after a short illness. She will be deeply missed. A private family service will be held with a memorial concert planned for a later date.
Ann was born in Worcester, Mass., on February 28, 1929 and grew up in Orange, Mass. She was predeceased by husband Charles E. Spencer and her parents, James and Edna Blanchard McElroy. She leaves her loving sons, William Spencer and wife Laura Ferrari of Monroe, Ct., and David Spencer and his wife Shannon O'Brien of Bennington, Vt., her cherished granddaughter, Anna Spencer, of Champaign, Ill., her sister Jane Ross and brother-in-law Dr. Philip Ross of Bethesda, Md.
She graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and completed graduate work at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. Later, she earned two master's degrees: her first in education from Southern Connecticut State College, and second in English from the University of Bridgeport. She additionally earned her Sixth-Year Certificate in Educational Administration from Fairfield University.
She enjoyed a long teaching career, first teaching Language Arts at the elementary level in Bridgeport and later English at Roger Ludlowe and Andrew Warde High Schools in Fairfield, where she also started the debate club.
She was a member and past president of various local organizations, including the Retired Educators of Fairfield, the Bridgeport Branch of the American Association of University Women for 70 years, the Wednesday Afternoon Musical Club and the Bridgeport chapter of the Mount Holyoke Club. She was a member of national and state educational organizations and of the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut.
Ann had been a board member of Learning for a Lifetime at the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities in Fairfield, where she also conducted classes in her teaching fields: poetry, short story and play reading.
She was a member of the Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Appalachian Mountain Club of Fairfield County.
Ann was a soprano soloist in various area churches, among them the Christian Science Church of Bridgeport, the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport and Nichols United Methodist Church of Trumbull.
Married for 61 years, Ann and her husband Charlie, whom she always considered her best friend, were devoted parents who loved to travel and entertain, accumulating many life-long friends on their journey and maintaining the original "social network" that matters most to a life well lived.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Wednesday Afternoon Musical Club for its scholarship fund: C/O Joanne Kant, Treasurer, 50 Laurel Drive, Easton, CT 06612
At a later date, when the time is safe to gather together once again, a memorial concert will be given by members of the Wednesday Afternoon Musical Club at The Fairfield Grace United Methodist Church on Fairfield Woods Road in Fairfield. It is being planned in memory of long-time members Ann and Charlie Spencer. Please contact Joanne Kant at Kanjwl@aol.com or 203-261-9160 for additional information.
To leave online condolences, please visit www.spadaccinofuneralhome.com.