Anne Sweetser Watson, born November 15, 1919 in Brookline, MA, daughter of the late Homer Loring Sweetser and the late Mary Nagel Sweetser, died at her home in Marion, MA on October 5, 2013.
She graduated from Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, MA in 1938 and studied the teaching of remedial reading at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1950’s.
In 1940, she married Lester Hoyt Watson and after fifteen years residing in Wayne, Pennsylvania, she and her family moved to Marion, Massachusetts. While in Wayne, she served as the Neighborhood Chairman of Girl Scouts and performed many volunteer duties at the Bryn Mawr Hospital.
In Marion she was a devoted parishioner of St. Gabriel’s Church. From 1962 to 1972, she tutored students in remedial reading both in her home and at the Sippican Elementary School.
A member of the Chilton Club of Boston and the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, she was an enthusiastic racer of Herreshoff 12s as well as an active tennis player.
She read deeply in psychology and religion, with a special interest in the work of Carl Jung. Her vibrant spiritual life included a strong belief in the healing power of prayer.
She loved the English language and was a fierce advocate of correct usage.
She wrote and published a book of essays, two books of poetry, The Well and Moontide; two novels, The Crystal River, and Hidden Manna; and edited a collection of her mother’s papers.
Her husband, Hoyt, predeceased her in 2011. She is survived by her children: Richard (Jacob) Loring Watson and his wife, Kristine, of Portland, Maine; Elizabeth Hoyt Watson of Felton, California; Mary Watson Hawley and her husband, Richard, of Ripton, Vermont; and Douglas Homer Watson and his wife, JoAnn, of Marion, Massachusetts; seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
In her poem “Autumn” she wrote, “The memories I hold march bravely in my heart. I want to store them to be sure their colors, flying high, escort my soul beyond the day I die.”
A memorial service at St. Gabriel’s Church, 124 Front Street, Marion, is planned for Nov. 9, 2013 at 3 P.M.
In lieu of flowers contributions would be welcome at St. Gabriel’s Church, P.O. Box 545, Marion, MA 02738 or The Cancer Research Institute, 681 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022.
Arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Hwy., Wareham. For directions and online guestbook, visit: www.ccgfuneralhome.com.