Anne Elizabeth O’Leary Wilson, 91, of Windham, died on April 9, 2006, after a lengthy illness. She was born in Patchogue, Long Island, New York, on March 11, 1915, the daughter of the late Dr. Cornelius A. and Mary (Phelps) O’Leary. She was the last surviving member of the O’Leary family’s seven siblings. Anne was a 1933 graduate of Patchogue High School, where she was a soprano soloist. At the age of 18, her family moved West, to Arizona. While attending the University of Arizona, she worked summers, with her sisters, at the Grand Canyon-a place that she fell in love with, for life. She graduated from the University of Arizona, Class of 1939, with a degree in English. While in Arizona, she met and fell in love with her spouse of 63 years, Thomas A. Wilson of Windham, N.H. Anne was the ever constant and loving mother to eleven children from this happy union. Through the years, as her family grew, the family moved about the country, living in several locales, to accommodate her husband’s assignments as an aircraft technical representative, in support of the United States Navy. She met each move with a sense of adventure, and quickly made every house along the way a home, where family and friends loved to gather. Navy assignments were always near the ocean, which suited her just fine, as she adored being anywhere near the water! In 1966, the family relocated to the Windham homestead, where generations of Wilsons have lived for over two hundred years.
Anyone who knew her couldn’t help but experience her “joie de vivre”, as she welcomed each and every day with true optimism and a warm and generous heart. Ask anyone-she could lift any spirit, comfort any blues, and brighten any day, with her never- flagging positive outlook, and her indomitable spirit of joy. She loved nature, singing, and heated political and intellectual discussions! She was always reading, always learning. Her greatest love and pride were in her family, and she reveled in the loud and boisterous family get- togethers, when all of her kids were together, and all were happy!
There’s a James Taylor song, that she loved, which we all associate with her, “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”. Indeed, how sweet it was! But it was her own father who probably said it best, as he scribed his loving words, on her eleventh birthday card, a card that she has kept all these years: “Dear, Dear Anne. You are a treasure and a delight”. Yes, she was all of that and more. She is forever loved and will be sorely missed.
Anne is survived by her beloved and devoted husband, Thomas A. Wilson of Windham, N.H.; her children Mary J. Massa and husband, Joseph of Derry; Thomas A. Wilson and wife, Mary- Jane of Milton, MA; William T. Wilson and wife, Babette of Derry; Cornelius H. Wilson and wife, Roxanne of Derry; Frank O. Wilson of Doylestown, PA; Madeline Bergeron and husband, Dennis of New Boston; Helen McCarty and husband, Normand of Sparta, N.J.; Patricia L. Fowler and husband, Christopher of Derry; and Nancy Riddervold and husband, James of Half Moon, N.Y. She was predeceased by an infant son, Joseph Aaron, and by her daughter, Margaret T. Lafleur, of Derry. She is also survived by 19 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, who all hold her in their most treasured memories, and, as we all do, forever in their hearts.
Calling hours were held on Wednesday, April 12, 2006, from 4 – 7pm in the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 15 Birch St., Derry. Funeral services were held at 7:00pm, followed by cremation. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Joseph’s Indian School, Chamberlain, SD 57326.