Ann Harter Morgenstern

Ann was born in Pottsville, to Darwin and Gertrude Harter. She was a graduate of the Katharine Gibbs School and worked as a secretary first in New York City, then later in Boston, where she met and married a young MIT engineer, Oscar Morgenstern. They wed in 1959 and moved to Virginia around 1963.

They raised four children, Darby, Oscar Jr., John and Rob, and were members of St. Mark's Catholic Church and choir in Vienna, Va. She eventually returned to work part-time for Wolf Trap Foundation and Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) until retirement. In 2011, they moved to Ashburn, Va., to the Ashby Ponds retirement community.

Ann was known for her kindness and joy, her laugh that would fill a room, and that mischievous glint in her eye that warned everyone you never quite knew what she'd do next. With the kids piled in the car, the family traveled frequently, from visiting relatives in Pennsylvania to ocean adventures in Palm Beach, Fla. After their brood left home, Oscar and Ann adventured the world. They cruised the Danube river, walked the Great Wall of China and explored the exotic beauty of Thailand. They visited the California clan and wintered in Florida with her sister, Barbara. Their choir traveled to Italy, performing for the Pope. When they retired to the Ponds, her table was usually the loudest in the dining room, ringing with the laughter of dear friends. She always looked forward to and enjoyed attending her Pottsville Area High School Class of 1954 reunions. Every adventure, Ann brought home a new bear (or six). Her collection of stuffed bears gave Ann great joy and her family much amusement.

Ann passed in the early morning hours of Feb. 9 in her apartment after a steady decline in health. She was loved and cherished and will be missed, but her family is certain she's started a heck of a party in heaven.

Preceded in death by her loving husband, Oscar L. Morgenstern, and beloved granddaughter, Jada Marie Morgenstern, Ann is survived by her sister, Barbara Koehl; her four children, Darby M. Joymeister, Oscar L. Morgenstern Jr., John Morgenstern and his wife, Lisa, and Robert M. Morgenstern and his wife, Wendy; three grandchildren, Amber Cowley-Robertson and husband, Mike, Cameron Cowley and wife, Sara, and Corwyn Morgenstern; and two great-grandchildren, Dmitri and Greyson.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. March 18, 2022, at St. Mark Catholic Church in Vienna, Va. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Arthritis National Research Foundation in memory of Ann H. Morgenstern.