ANN LALLANDE

1949 - 2021

LALLANDE Ann Lucile Lallande 1949 -2021 Ann Lallande of Annapolis, MD, formerly of San Juan, Puerto Rico and New York City, died Sunday, December 19, from complications following surgery to mend a broken leg. Born June 24, 1949, in San Juan to J. Gustave Lallande and Janice Hoover Lallande, Ann was a world- class swimmer who represented Puerto Rico in two Pan American Games and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Known on the island as Anita Lallande, she still holds the record for most swimming medals won -17 - at the Central American and Caribbean Games. After her swimming career ended, Ann earned a degree in political science from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY. She then returned to Condado, Puerto Rico, where she taught junior high school for two years before leaving the island permanently. She began her journalism career in New York City, writing for Newsweek, Fortune and Business Week magazines. Ann said she loved journalism because it paid her to learn and suited her short attention span. Following her marriage to Robert C. Giffen, III, a naval officer, the couple settled first in Alexandria, VA, where Ann worked at McGraw Hill's Washington Bureau. The frequent moves required by her husband's career - and the births of children Kyle and Nicole - gave Ann less time for journalism, though she continued to work as a freelancer and stringer. Given the military's culture of the time, marrying a naval officer meant a woman could lose her identity. Ann, however, would have none of it. She was smart, capable and had already distinguished herself as both an athlete and a journalist, so when she married Robert, she kept her last name. And although Ann loved Robert deeply, she gently and firmly reminded people - even her own sister - that she was still Ann Lallande. She got so good at it, in fact, that Robert is still addressed as Mr. Lallande. After her husband's retirement from the Navy and the family's return to Annapolis, Ann continued her work, serving for a time as a consultant to Carlos Romero Barceló, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner to Congress. Bringing her characteristic drive and high standards to the position, Ann became known to her colleagues as La Lancha - The Motorboat - a nickname she'd earned during her swimming career. Ann was more than her discipline and work ethic, however - she also was a well of compassion. She could be brought to tears by ambulance sirens, imagining the occupant's pain, and made spontaneous donations to victims - whether human or animal - of hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. These defining traits, coupled with a complex yet abiding faith, led Ann to nearly thirty years of volunteer service at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church of Annapolis. Unafraid of hard questions, Ann was an active member of several study and discussion groups - including one she co-led called Heretics. She looked outward as well, tutoring children at local elementary schools, teaching evening citizenship preparation classes for Spanish-speaking adults, and volunteering as an interpreter at a medical clinic serving Hispanic residents. No less devoted to life at home, Ann was a skilled cook who never felt obligated to follow a recipe a second time, treating her family as a perpetual test kitchen. But as a gracious host, her dinner parties provided her guests with an impeccably set table, memorable meals and a raucous good time. She was also an avid gardener who lived to refine her yard's color palette; her plants were moved so often that she joked they should come with handles. It delighted her to see bees, butterflies and goldfinches make her perennial garden their way station. Her deepest satisfaction came from her forty-one-year marriage to Robert and the children they raised together. In addition to her husband, Ann is survived by son Kyle Giffen, his wife Katelyn and their three children, Ryn, Carrington and Sutton; and daughter Nicole Giffen. Ann's elder brother Joseph Lallande died earlier this year; while her sister Mary Kendrick; sisters-in-law Dagmar Cosby and Nicola Lallande, and several beloved nieces and nephews also survive her. A private ceremony will be held at Arlington National Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at St. Margaret's later this year. Donations in Ann's memory may be made to St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, 1601 Pleasant Plains Road, Annapolis, MD 21409 or st-margarets.org. An online guest book is available at: www.johnmtaylorfuneralhome.com www.johnmtaylorfuneralhome.com