Ann Duryea Greenleese

08/05/1937 - 01/25/2026

With a ready smile and outgoing personality, Ann Duryea Greenleese brought joy into the many lives she touched during her 88 years. She died of complications from Alzheimer's disease January 25, 2026, in Springfield, Virginia.
Upon her birth on August 5, 1937, the church bells in Amityville, NY, rang out exuberantly. The act was an homage to her father who was the longtime, volunteer mayor but also a fitting start for such an optimistic person.
She described her childhood as idyllic, spent sailing in the Great South Bay with friends and her two beloved brothers. A devout Catholic, Ann received a degree in education in 1959 from Rosemont College, a small Catholic college in Pennsylvania. She then headed to California with a childhood friend to teach school. At the time, her decision was considered quite rebellious, but the experience proved life-changing, instilling in her a sense of wanderlust.
A few years later, she returned to the East Coast and met Ron Greenleese through mutual friends. They soon married and eventually settled in Waynewood, a community near Mt. Vernon estate in Northern Virginia. Here they raised their three daughters and were active in community life. When her children were grown, Ann returned to the classroom, becoming a favorite elementary school teacher.
She gardened, read voraciously and adored a good game of tennis, playing until she was 80. Ann was also a lifelong volunteer and travelled widely. Always chatty and cheerful, she made everyone feel special, leading her to make infinite friends from all walks of life.
In 2016, Ann and Ron moved to the Greenspring retirement community, enjoying their final years with new and old friends.
She was predeceased by her husband of 55 years in 2018, brother Charles and brother-in-law, William "Bill" (the late Joyce) Greenleese. She is survived by her brother Peter (Marcie); sisters-in-law Faith Duryea and Dale Beeby; daughters, Katherine Greenleese, Nancy Greenleese (Luigi Fraboni), and Jane Sarman (Brian); and grandchildren, Patrick, Daniel and Claire Sarman and Leda Fraboni.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in February. For memorial donations, the family suggests the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington's immigrant and refugee services ministry, which serves people in need of all faiths, or the Fairfax County Public Libraries' access services branch.