Minister, scientist, artist and matriarch had an activist and adventurous heart
Rev. Ann Elizabeth Geer, 83, minister, scientist, artist and beloved matriarch, died peacefully following a short illness at home in Burlington, Vt., on June 1, 2022. She was a fascinating woman with an activist and adventurous heart; she thought she could do anything, and she was right. She was born in New Orleans, La., on December 16, 1938, daughter of Frederick Hannon and Lois Eddy (Johnson) Hannon, and later adopted by her stepfather, William Wallace Blake-Haskins. She lived her early life in the West Indies, first in Cuba and then in the Dominican Republic, where her father trained racehorses on the presidential palace grounds. Her first language was Spanish. Following political upheaval, the family moved to Hialeah, Fla., and then relocated to Lincroft, N.J., where they shared their land with jockeys and trainers in a home surrounded by a mile-and-a-half horse-racing track. Following the death of her father, when Ann was 13, her mother, an emergency room nurse and supervisor, moved Ann and her two brothers, Fred Jr. and John “Jake” to Little Silver, N.J. There Lois met and married William Wallace Blake-Haskins, who adopted both Ann and Jake. Ann attended Mary Help of Christians Convent School until her senior year, when — caught reading books on science under the covers and threatened with punishment — her stepfather, a longtime educator, "liberated" her from the school. For the last half of her senior year, she attended Freehold Regional High School, where she was recognized as a National Merit Scholar upon graduation. Through most of her childhood she studied ballet, which contributed to her lifelong elegance. Following high school, Ann studied nursing at Monmouth College while working as a proofreader for the Asbury Press at night. It was during this time Ann learned to fly biplanes, taught by an instructor who tried to dissuade her by flying under a bridge and making repeated engine stalls. Undeterred, she continued until she was flying solo. Ann also bought a baby blue MG, which she sometimes raced on weekends with a group of friends. She did many repairs on the little race car on her own, as few mechanics in the area knew about foreign cars. After nursing school, wanting to go into medicine, she attended Rutgers and lived with a Hungarian family who told her “We will not feed you” and then, of course, fed her every meal. At Rutgers, while studying science, she became fascinated with animal behavior, particularly interested in "The Dance of…
Minister, scientist, artist and matriarch had an activist and adventurous heart
Rev. Ann Elizabeth Geer, 83, minister, scientist, artist and beloved matriarch, died peacefully following a short illness at home in Burlington, Vt., on June 1, 2022. She was a fascinating woman with an activist and adventurous heart; she thought she could do anything, and she was right. She was born in New Orleans, La., on December 16, 1938, daughter of Frederick Hannon and Lois Eddy (Johnson) Hannon, and later adopted by her stepfather, William Wallace Blake-Haskins. She lived her early life in the West Indies, first in Cuba and then in the Dominican Republic, where her father trained racehorses on the presidential palace grounds. Her first language was Spanish. Following political upheaval, the family moved to Hialeah, Fla., and then relocated to Lincroft, N.J., where they shared their land with jockeys and trainers in a home surrounded by a mile-and-a-half horse-racing track. Following the death of her father, when Ann was 13, her mother, an emergency room nurse and supervisor, moved Ann and her two brothers, Fred Jr. and John “Jake” to Little Silver, N.J. There Lois met and married William Wallace Blake-Haskins, who adopted both Ann and Jake. Ann attended Mary Help of Christians Convent School until her senior year, when — caught reading books on science under the covers and threatened with punishment — her stepfather, a longtime educator, "liberated" her from the school. For the last half of her senior year, she attended Freehold Regional High School, where she was recognized as a National Merit Scholar upon graduation. Through most of her childhood she studied ballet, which contributed to her lifelong elegance. Following high school, Ann studied nursing at Monmouth College while working as a proofreader for the Asbury Press at night. It was during this time Ann learned to fly biplanes, taught by an instructor who tried to dissuade her by flying under a bridge and making repeated engine stalls. Undeterred, she continued until she was flying solo. Ann also bought a baby blue MG, which she sometimes raced on weekends with a group of friends. She did many repairs on the little race car on her own, as few mechanics in the area knew about foreign cars. After nursing school, wanting to go into medicine, she attended Rutgers and lived with a Hungarian family who told her “We will not feed you” and then, of course, fed her every meal. At Rutgers, while studying science, she became fascinated with animal behavior, particularly interested in "The Dance of…