Anne Rogers Wade

Anne Wade was born October 31, 1946 and grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, surrounded by a vibrant neighborhood on Gimghoul Road. She carried that community spirit with her to all her neighborhoods and homes, where she formed deep, lasting friendships.

She graduated from Chapel Hill High School, and then Appalachian State University. She also obtained a master’s degree in education from UNC-Chapel Hill. She still maintained friendships with people from each of these phases of her life, and more than one of these friends became adopted members of her extended family.

Anne taught for several years in Titusville, Florida and Chapel Hill & Raleigh, NC before moving to Maryland. She taught middle school science for many years in the Howard County school district in Maryland. There, she created and directed the disAbility Awareness Program (dAP) which celebrated all forms of disability. The program travelled from school to school, taking over for the day with a line-up of speakers and events. The “A” in disAbility was capitalized to emphasize the abilities of people with disabilities. Speakers included both students and adults, who spoke about their joys and strengths, demonstrated their skills or talents, and along the way educated the school community about the challenges of living with their disability in a world designed by non-disabled people. She was an early advocate for a broad understanding of disability (including invisible forms like epilepsy and what we now call neurodiversity). She included speakers living with HIV and strongly advocated for celebrating LGBTQ+ people. The speakers in her program became dear friends, several of whom were lifelong.

In 2008, she returned to North Carolina, settling in Mebane to be near her twin moms in Chapel Hill and other family members. As she did in all her other homes, Anne quickly built a new community of dear friends and neighbors. She was a strong supporter of having a vital Mebane downtown. Anne traveled extensively, most often to Mexico with her beloved twin moms, always with a sense of wonder and love of learning new things and meeting new people.

Anne’s love of animals was well known to all her friends and family. Many cats found their way to her warm, dry garage, where she cared for them and coaxed them into becoming roommates. She always had at least one dog, usually from a rescue program or shelter.

Her Halloween birthday was always a point of pride for her. Neighbors and family knew to expect her house to be decorated in Fall with all the symbols of Halloween – especially witches – and she loved to see the parade of costumes of neighborhood children.

She was a highly independent person, a fierce advocate for anyone who she saw as mistreated, and she shared her heart generously. She loved to meet people and learn their stories. She did not let politics prevent her from making friends – though she also did not hold back from sharing her own strong views. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Ralph Warren, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and found family members who loved her dearly.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your favorite animal shelter, the NC Botanical Garden, or any organization about which you are passionate.

A celebration of life will be held at a date to be determined.