• Courtesy Photo
• Ann Livingston

On April 23, 2021, Ann Crittenden Livingston, beloved mother of four and grandmother of seven, passed away in Burlington, Vt., at the age of 95.

Ann was born in Rochester, N.Y., on October 14, 1925. She was the youngest and last member of her generation of the large Ward family, and she spent time each summer at Grange Landing on nearby Canandaigua Lake, surrounded by her many aunts, uncles and cousins, and later nieces, nephews, and her own children and grandchildren. The family place was a cherished fixture in Ann’s life, shaping her ethos of care and appreciation for others and for the natural world, which she passed on to her descendants.

Throughout her life, Ann worked to make her community and world a better place, through her career as a mother and an educational adviser, through volunteering, and later through modest philanthropy. She was an active leader in the Congregational Church in Wilton, Conn., where she raised her children, and in the Unitarian Church in Burlington, Vt., where she moved in 1972. Her empathy for others was matched by her resilience in meeting life’s challenges. Divorced in middle age, she became an administrative assistant at the University of Vermont, simultaneously secured her master's degree in education, and rose to be a highly regarded dean of students of what was then UVM’s College of Engineering, Mathematics and Business Administration. Later in life, she served as president of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington and as a founding board member of what became the Champlain Housing Trust.

To friends and family, Ann offered a guiding hand and a keen ear. She loved hearing people’s stories, which brought her lasting connections across her community. And she supported her children and grandchildren in all of their endeavors and trials, attentive to what made them unique as well as what brought them together. She especially enjoyed talking with people one-on-one, and a conversation with Ann — in her living room in Burlington or on the porch of the Canandaigua cottage — made you feel loved and inspired to follow her example of independence of mind and kindness of spirit.

Ann found great joy in the life that surrounded her, in all its forms. Gardening was a lifelong passion, which she shared with her mother and later with her children. (Even when, late in life, she gave up her house and garden on Catherine Street for an apartment, she discreetly scattered mint between the bushes outside the building so that she would have a fresh supply in summer.) She traveled widely with family and friends and took pleasure in art, music, literature and history. Her thoughtful presence will be missed.

Ann is survived by her children, Carol (and husband Gary Golden), Gil (and wife Amy Wright), Henry (and wife Julie), and Connie, and by her grandchildren, Alex, Pete, Morgan, Nick, Addie, Sarah and ZhouLin. Ann’s ashes will be spread at Grange Landing by her extended family this summer. Her family would like to thank the Converse Home and UVM Home Health & Hospice for their exceptional care.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Champlain Housing Trust (88 King St., Burlington, VT 05401, getahome.org) or the Vermont Land Trust (8 Bailey Ave., Montpelier, VT 05602, vlt.org).