Ann Pearce Hitt

Ann Pearce Hitt, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on September 22, 2025, after facing various health challenges. She was 91.

Born Lydia Ann Baker in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Ann was "born and bred" on a 90-acre farm in Lerty, a town named for her grandmother, the former postmistress. She attended school in nearby Montross and graduated from Washington & Lee High School, where she "lived for basketball" and proudly played first-string for all four years. Though only 5 feet tall, her speed made her a formidable defender against the six-footers.

After graduation, Ann met Jack Pearce, a U.S. Marine who had served in Korea. Two months and two days later, they married, and went on to have three children: Valerie, Darrell ("Todd"), and Kelly. After 21 years of marriage, the couple divorced. On Christmas night in 1980, Ann met her second husband, Robert "Bobby" Hitt, at Club Huntsman in Warrenton. They married the following year and later divorced.

Ann was adventurous and liked seeing new places. She embraced moves to Montana, Denver, Seattle, and Utah, but always returned to Virginia, which she held closest to her heart. For the last decade, she called Arlington home and loved her apartment at Culpepper Garden. She enjoyed travel despite her fear of flying, and in 1987 took a dream trip to London and Norway with her daughter Kelly, exploring London, Oslo, and Bergen, and dipping her hand into the freezing waters of the North Sea.

She worked at Hecht's department store and later as a receptionist at the Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Co-Op in Rosslyn. Ann loved cooking, cats (especially her beloved Pepper, "Peppy"), giraffes, and collecting lighthouses and Noah's Arks. Some of her favorite things were shopping at Target and through the Blair catalog, watching old Westerns, and listening to both rock 'n' roll and classical music. She also found joy in art history and keeping up with current events.

Ann's feisty personality and fierce devotion to family made an impact on everyone who knew her. Gracious, friendly, and faithful, she embodied the spirit of a true Southerner. She often said, "this too shall pass." As we celebrate her life, may those words bring us solace and remind us that even in sorrow, peace and comfort will return.

Ann is survived by her son, Darrell "Todd" Pearce; her daughter, Kelly (Brian) Prusse; and her son-in-law, Tim Kidwell. She was the proud grandmother of Justin Kidwell, Hannah (Zac) Olsen, and Carlyn Prusse, and the adoring great-grandmother of Cosette and Clementine Olsen. She was preceded in death by her parents, Taylor Baker and Naomi Gutridge; her sister, Betty Lewis; her beloved daughter, Valerie Kidwell; and her former spouses, Jack Pearce and Robert "Bobby" Hitt.

A graveside service will be held at Popes Creek Baptist Church Cemetery on Wednesday, October 1st, at 1:00 pm.