Anne Strain was a longtime member of the Maria Mitchell Association’s Honorary Board and served on the MMA’s Board of Directors for many years. Anne passed away on January 15, 2024. An avid birder and a garden and plant enthusiast, Anne was a quiet and lovely woman who brought her long knowledge of Nantucket to the MMA. Nantucket was a part of her life from a young age and in later life she owned a wonderful house that overlooked Prospect Hill cemetery called “High Spirits.” While I did not know Anne well, we shared a commonality besides gardening, birding and our love of the MMA and Nantucket, we are both women’s college graduates – Anne having graduated from Vassar College and myself, from Mount Holyoke College. During a small event for the MMA, I spent much of it on the deck on a bench speaking with her and I enjoyed getting to know her better and watching the events unfold from our perch in the shade. It was in that conversation that we had that it became less of a board member and staff member and more of a sister of a shared experience. Even if different schools, we shared a similar college “upbringing” having attended women’s colleges – and each one us at one of the Seven Sisters.
What I did not know about Anne was her accomplishment as a fly fisherwoman – but I could see that – she had a quiet patience about her. I am sure she was a tremendous fly fisherwoman – just wish I had the chance to learn from her!
JNLF
The step, however small, which is in advance of the world, shows the greatness of the person, whether that step be taken with brain, with heart, or with hands. – Maria Mitchell
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