Ann Flynn Palmer Page died peacefully in her beloved Wake Robin community on Saturday, December 7, 2024.
She was born in Parkersburg, W. Va., on July 13, 1939, the daughter of Martha Kate Webb and Lewis Edwin Palmer. Although she lived in West Virginia, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts and Virginia throughout her life, she always called Vermont home.
Her early years were spent riding horses and nurturing gardens at her home in Washington Bottom, W.Va. She also participated in the 4-H club, where she fondly recalled leading conservation projects and planting hundreds of trees each year on West Virginia land. As a child, she was always engrossed in books and began writing at a very young age. Literature and words wove a thread through Ann’s life, offering continual sustenance, comfort and support. After finishing her undergraduate degree at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., she moved to Boston where she completed a master’s degree in speech and communication at Emerson College. During her young adult years, Ann’s love of language was reflected in her work as a radio host, librarian and writer. Writing was a tool of self-discovery for Ann, helping her process, reflect on her experiences and become the version of herself she wanted to be. Ann also participated in the debate club at Emerson College, a setting where she used her skill with language to be a quiet force for justice, which contributed to her continued advocacy efforts as an adult. In the debate club, Ann met Walter Page, a formidable opponent. Ann and Walter married in 1963, and Walter passed away after a short battle with cancer in 2008.
When the kids were young, the family moved to North Hero, Vt., and Ann continued to pursue her passions by attending the annual Iowa Writers’ Workshop, printing her work in local publications, frequenting writing groups and tending to her daily journaling. She took great joy in her life in North Hero, and the community and friendships she formed there were the most significant of her life. During this time, she opened and ran an artisan-inspired and curated flower shop with her lifelong best friend, Joyce Borthwick-Leslie. This effort represented an ongoing act of determination, resilience and joy. She also involved herself in the community through work with the Village Players, the United Methodist Church, Island Arts and Artist’s Way. She loved to sing in church, in the theater and in the kitchen (accompanying almost anything on the radio, including the Sunday opera). As she moved through life at Wake Robin, her tattered bright yellow poster for Say it With Music, a production she and Joyce wrote and codirected with the Village Players, proudly hung on the wall of each of her Wake Robin rooms. Her connection with her property on Pelots Point Road in North Hero was almost cellular. It was on that land that she raised a family (as well as chickens, rabbits, cats and dogs), grew food and flowers and felt closest to the natural world. Longtime friends, Chip and Ann Porter, remain a steady anchor in that community.
While many people begin their lives focused on who they are, Ann was often focused on others, on the community and on her family. As her children grew up, she found more space to focus on herself. As she cultivated gardens in North Hero, and later at Wake Robin, she also began cultivating and discovering who she was through writing and reflection. Her Wake Robin memoir group, writing instructors and notebooks were constant companions in her later years.
One of Ann’s favorite writers and steadfast literary idols was Mary Oliver. Ann lived her life in accordance with Mary Oliver’s principles, and she would have encouraged all of us to do the same.
“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” — Mary Oliver
Ann is survived by her daughter, Kara Lyn Page, of Richmond, Va.; her son, Eric Edmund Page, of Tampa, Fla.; and four grandchildren: Hannah Kate Parker, Savannah Stock Page, Nora Harding Parker and Owen Lewis Parker. She is also survived by her dearest friend, Joyce Borthwick-Leslie, and her adoring black lab, Sadie, who now lives in Virginia with Kara.
Her family wants to extend heartfelt gratitude to all of those at Wake Robin who touched Ann’s life. In 2016 Ann chose to return to Vermont from Virginia, writing in her annual Christmas letter, “So, here I am, leaving home and returning home … at Wake Robin I have found a place where the trees and the people who live among them are strong, kind, and caring.” From her friends to the dedicated staff to the kind security team who cared for Sadie during her transition to Virginia, Wake Robin was home to Ann.
A service to celebrate Ann’s life will be planned for the spring.
Donations in Ann’s memory can be made to the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain, P.O. Box 1145, St. Albans, VT 05478.
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.