Ann Winifred Spencer
From 1959 to 2021
Ann W. F. departed the world on October 31, 2021 at age 62. Her death was sudden and heartbreakingly devastating.
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Ann was everything to so many people, especially her family. She was an incredible and loving wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt, niece, and cousin. She cared so deeply for her husband George, her three children Mary, William (Jess), and Allison (Maya), her sister Margot (John), and her mother Betty Ann. Ann is preceded in death by her father Bill, brother Billy, aunts, uncles, grandparents and generations before.
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Please share memories and pictures by email at picsofann@gmail.com. In particular, we would love for people to share photos of themselves in knitwear made by Ann.
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In lieu of flowers please donate time, talents, or treasures to something that feels right with your heart.
Celebrating the Life of Ann Spencer
Wife, Mom, Sister, Daughter, Niece, Aunt, Skier, Swimmer, Adventurer, Sailor, Knitter, Friend, Mentor, Everything
Growing up, Ann was always busy. She was a popular babysitter and student council member – early examples of her leadership. She was a strong student, skipping grade 8. In addition to her studies and student government, she worked at the local fabric store and sewed up a storm.
Ann studied Commerce at Queen’s University. She was a Don in Victoria Hall where her daughter Mary would be a resident 25 years later. In her room, she used her textbooks as weights to prepare for ski season while studying.
Summers with her family included sailing on Compulsion, visiting the cabin and her childhood cottage. These spots were the constants in her family’s life as they moved every few years. Ann had an excel spreadsheet to easily plan meals and groceries. Each summer she would waterski, just like her dad did until age 82.
Ann loved adventures to new places and some of her favourites were Scotland, Ireland, France, and New York City (especially when her youngest lived there). On Ann and George’s honeymoon in Greece, they asked for 2 oranges from a merchant and somehow got 20 pounds. Trips to New York involved watching Alli’s soccer games at Columbia University and catching Broadway shows after getting half price tickets. If she found out you had never been to a show she was likely to take you to your first.
After retirement, in her long-awaited gap year, Ann worked at Alta Ski Resort where she took immense pride in her balanced cash register. She would always remind people that they got a free refill on hot chocolate. Ann was an expert skier, carefully picking her line down the mountain with precision and grace. She could be spotted from hundreds of yards away by her technique alone. While teaching kids to ski, Ann would stay behind them with her poles stretched out wide so that no one could come too close.
Ann was always an active volunteer beginning with the M.D. Anderson Christmas Card Campaign. She was the President of the High School Marching Band Booster Club. Many weekend nights were spent watching football games to see her kids perform with the band at half time. In Salt Lake City, Ann again volunteered - this time for soccer. Ann attended nearly all of Allison’s soccer games but we were never sure how much of the game she watched as she would be chatting to fans in the stands. She was a committed member of the National Charity League for many years including serving on the executive board.
Moving around North America, Ann always created a welcoming home for anyone to have a warm cup of tea, and a slice of freshly baked bread. Ann was essentially running a bed and breakfast in Salt Lake, happily hosting family friends. You could always be sure to leave her place with a loaf of homemade bread. She believed everyone needed somewhere to go for the holidays and would happily set an extra spot.
