Anne was born on October 7th, 1948, in Racine, WI. She grew up in Union Grove, WI on the family farm with her parents and five siblings before moving to attend St. Mary’s Academy in St. Francis at age 16. Upon graduation, she attended Marion College in Fond du Lac, WI, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She went on to obtain her Master of Science in Management from Cardinal Stritch University in 1984 and completed a program to become a Lay Ministry Leader from St. Francis de Sales Seminary in 1992.
As a Registered Nurse she worked at Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago, IL, at Lutheran/Good Samaritan and St. Joseph’s Hospitals in Milwaukee, and several area Nursing Home facilities; she devoted herself to advocating for those with health issues and older adults and spent nearly half of her career as a Director of Nursing.
Anne was passionate about giving back to her community. While working full-time and raising seven children, she was active in each Church she was a member of. She was devoted to God and found strength in him every day. Anne later joined the Peace Corps, spending months in Botswana, Africa, fighting the AIDS epidemic until a breast cancer diagnosis caused her to withdraw, and worked on dozens of Habitat for Humanity home sites with her husband, Ken; Habitat took them across the country and to Vietnam. They traveled together with an RV Club and were even able to cross the Artic Circle on one of their travels. Anne donated regularly to charities that supported issues that were close to her heart: AIDS, Cancer, and Alzheimer’s Research, and Conservation.
In addition to serving her God and her community, Anne enjoyed reading (she read the Bible daily), baking, gardening, taking walks, biking, and the arts, and she was always up for an adventure!