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Anne S. Edwards

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of former employee Anne S. Edwards on October 22, 2024.  She was 93.

Anne was born on May 10, 1931, to Walter and Eleanor (Onie) Schafer and raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey. After high school she earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.

Through the 1950’s and early 60’s, Anne lived in New York City and in Rockland County, NY, in an artist community known as “The Land.” She also lived on the island of St. Croix where she and her first husband built a resort called The Waves.

Anne settled in Falmouth in 1969 and began to work at WHOI as a full-time research assistant for the Geology/Geophysics Department where she met the love of her life, Richard (Dick) S. Edwards. Anne and Dick were married in 1977 until his death in 2007. Anne worked at WHOI until 1986 but returned as a casual employee from 2001 – 2008.

Anne lived her life with gusto. She embraced an enthusiasm for the world and the people within it with a spirit of true adventure, joy, deep generosity, intense creativity and an unapologetic enjoyment for living large. A bold traveler from her early years, Anne traveled across the country on the back of a motorcycle in the 1950’s. In her later years she visited many countries in Europe. She was a tremendous cook and those who loved her will deeply miss cozy dinners around her kitchen table, her gargantuan apple pies, and tins of boozy brownies at Christmas.

A devoted mother and grandmother she also was a great dog lover, and had a series of utterly spoiled dogs throughout her lifetime.

After retirement, Anne volunteered for many years with the building crew of Habitat for Humanity, Cape Cod. She also developed a great passion for quilting and spent much of her final years in her sewing room, with her dog at her feet, listening to an audio book and making exquisite quilts that adorn the beds of many of her family members and friends.

Anne lived her life with a superb lack of regret, and she consistently defied convention. She was gorgeous and glamorous and loved fine clothes, art and literature. However, she was equally comfortable wielding her electric chain saw like a seasoned lumberjack, and she always emphasized her point with a perfectly placed curse word.

Anne’s love towards her family and friends was marked with generosity and kindness and a goal to always give more than she took. She had a knack of making you feel like the most important person in the world and her infectious laugh and penchant for a great drink made her the life of the party that everyone wanted to be a part of.

Anne was an offering of love, a hearty laugh and a buddy to do fun things with. She will be missed beyond measure.

Anne was predeceased by her parents, Walter and Onie Schafer, stepmother Helen G. Schafer, husband Dick Edwards, sister Lynn Regan, and stepson Richard (Dickie) Edwards, Jr.  She is survived by her son, Sean Riley, his wife, Rebecca, and their children, Dylan and Cecilia of Falmouth, MA. Her sisters, Emily McCormick of Charlotte, NC; and Judy Batty of Fort Collins, CO; brothers David Schafer and wife Pauline of Centerville, MA; and Dr. Gary Schafer and wife Anne of Rutherfordton, NC; stepdaughters Lee Townley of Brunswick, Maine; Arden Edwards of Woods Hole, MA; and Catherine Neill of Unity, Maine. She also leaves numerous step-grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and her dog, Pippin.

A celebration of Anne’s life will be held Saturday, June 14, 2025, from 1-3 p.m. at the Parish and Community Center of the Church of the Messiah, 16 Church St., Woods Hole, MA. Donations in her memory may be made to Habitat for Humanity.

Information for this obituary is from Anne’s family