Anne Dwight Boardman

Anne Dwight Boardman, 100, died peacefully on Tuesday, September 17th at Brookhaven at Lexington in Lexington, MA, where she had lived for the past 14 years. She was predeceased by her husband, Francis Boardman (Jim), her brother Thomas Hooker, and her sisters Dorothy M. Hooker and Catharine H. Barclay.

Anne was born in New Haven, CT on March 6, 1924, to Thomas Hooker and Emily Malbone Morgan. She spent her childhood in New Haven and graduated from The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. in 1941 and from Vassar College in 1944, where she majored in English. Following her graduation, she moved to New York City, where she worked at the British Information Service for several years before moving to Washington, D.C. in 1952 to work at the State Department in the Office of Public Opinion Studies. She often talked about how lucky she was to have had jobs she enjoyed so much, with wonderful colleagues in both organizations.

At State, she met her husband, Jim Boardman, a Middle East specialist. Eight months after their daughter was born, they moved in 1956 to Beirut, Lebanon, where Jim was head of the political section of the U.S. Embassy. As a Foreign Service wife, she entertained frequently, and in the process met several political figures, including Senator Hubert Humphrey. During Lebanon's revolution of 1958, their apartment house came under fire, and they spent several hours lying on the bathroom floor until the shooting stopped. Shortly thereafter they were sent back to Washington, D.C.

Anne loved being a mother, and in addition to raising her daughter, she engaged in a number of volunteer activities with several organizations, including St. John's Childhood Development Center and the International Student House. She was also a literacy tutor in the D.C. public schools. After her husband's untimely death at the age of 61 in 1976, she continued to live and volunteer in Washington, where she had numerous friends. She had a full dance card of activities and took advantage of all that Washington had to offer, regularly attending events at the Kennedy Center, going to museums, and taking visitors on sightseeing adventures. She was a member of St. John's Church for many years, and later attended Christ Church in Georgetown. She loved music, and often attended Evensong at the National Cathedral.

As a widow, she discovered the joys of going on walking trips, mostly to the U.K., but also to France, Italy, and the Pacific Northwest. Although she had never considered herself an "outdoorsy" person, some of her happiest moments in her later years were spent "hiking up and down 5000-year-old footpaths and clambering over countless muddy stiles," as she wrote in her class notes for her 50th college reunion. She continued taking trips well into her 80's, and would often stop off in London, her favorite city, for several days on either end.

Nothing made her happier than spending time with her granddaughters, whether it was reading aloud to them when they were young, attending grandparent's day at their schools, or taking them to the theatre when they visited her.

When she was 86, she reluctantly decided it was time to leave her house in Washington, and to move to the Boston area to be closer to her daughter, son-in-law, and her three beloved granddaughters, and where she also had several nieces and nephews. She moved into a retirement center, Brookhaven at Lexington, where she immediately made friends and continued to pursue activities she loved: joining a poetry and plays group, going to the symphony, and participating in an outdoor walking program. She also decided it was time to take up acting, and she performed in several plays that were put on for the Brookhaven community.

She was an avid reader and news hound, and in addition to her lifelong love of books, particularly English literature, she read the newspaper every day and watched the news every evening. As she became less active, one of her favorite times of the week was when her daughter came over on Friday nights, and they would watch the PBS NewsHour together. As her health continued to fail, and her world became more limited, she delighted in visits from her daughter's golden retriever, who always managed to bring a smile to her face.

Anne leaves and will be deeply missed by her daughter, Pamela D. Boardman, son-in-law, Jonathan L. Kelman, three granddaughters: Alison B. Kelman, Elizabeth (Liz) B. Kelman, and Emily B. Kelman, as well as many devoted nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Brookhaven at Lexington for their care of Anne, particularly over the last three years when her health deteriorated. In lieu of flowers, donations in Anne's name can be made to WGBH or The International Student House in Washington, D.C. Service arrangements are pending.