Dover-Foxcroft,
ME - Beverly "Ann" Whittaker (Johnston) age 77 joined the Lord on
Wednesday January 30, 2019 at Mayo Regional Hospital after a brief illness. She
was born in Brockton, Massachusetts on March 4, 1941 to Edwin Berce Johnston
and Velma Doris Johnston (Rogers). She graduated from Brockton High School in
1959 and earned a Bachelor of Science Education degree from Framingham State
College in 1963.
She
is survived by her daughter Catherine Cryan and husband Michael their daughters
Lillian, Rosalie and Heather of Haverhill, MA; her son Douglas who has a son
Gustave and daughters Samantha and Danielle of Slidell LA; her son James and
his wife Maryrose, who have sons Harrison and Casey and a daughter Grace of
Orr’s Island, ME; as well as her sister Marylin Leedberg of Brockton, MA.
On
June 15, 1963 Ann Johnston married Francis Ervine Whittaker who was a devoted
husband and passed away in March of 2011. Mrs. Whittaker was a public servant
with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and
Development for over 20 years as a Community Planner. She was particularly
proud of her accomplishments as a block grant administrator in the Main Street
Program on rural development maintaining the downtown character of many smaller
towns in western Massachusetts. The importance of her work keeping the unique
character of these towns alive was recognized by the President of the United
States through a Presidential Citation. Once she had an empty nest, Mrs.
Whittaker chose to expand her horizons; at the age of 62, she earned a Master
of Business Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston
with summa cum laude honors.
Mrs.
Whittaker was well known for her involvement in her community while raising her
family in Holliston Massachusetts. For example, she enjoyed her work on
community theater productions with the Curtain Timers as a director of multiple
productions and an officer. She also served on the Holliston Conservation
Commission for many years. After earning the prestigious Curved Bar award as a
Girl Scout, she actively supported her children in Scouting, and the Girl
Scouts recognized her efforts with an award as an Outstanding Volunteer.
Mrs.
Whittaker spent many of her golden years enjoying her Camp in Dover-Foxcroft,
Maine on Sebec Lake. She was known as an avid entertainer and took great joy in
her ability to cook. Along with her husband, she hosted nightly events
including sunset cruises to the "Big Lake” with friends and family on their
classic 1965 Chris Craft Sea Skiff. Ashore, tending to her container gardens on
the pier and playing cards with guests were some of her favorite aspects of
lake living. The importance of entertaining and spending time at the Camp was
evident to the very end; while she was living at Pleasant Meadows full time in
Dover-Foxcroft she would host day trips for the residents to spend afternoons
on the pier enjoying their lunch and the cool breezes and lake views she loved
so much.
Visiting
hours will be held Thursday, February 7th from 9-10:30 AM at the
John C. Bryant Funeral Home 56 Pemberton Road, Wayland, MA 01778 with a Mass of
Christian Burial to follow at 11 AM at St. Patrick’s Church 46 East Central
Street, Natick. Interment will follow in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Natick.
In
lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of Ann
Whittaker to the Sebec Lake Association, PO. Box 303 Dover-Foxcroft, ME
04426-0303, sebeclakeassoc.org
Maine
arrangements are by Stetson’s Funeral Home 12 Federal St. Brunswick, Me where
memorial condolences may be expressed at stetsonsfuneralhome.com