Ann P. Moran

Ann was born, Sebastiana Vicenzino Cassarino, in 1921 in Hartford, CT. In those days, being of Italian descent was looked down upon in an Anglo community so, following her sister Yolanda’s lead (who changed her name to Jane), she shortened “Sebastiana” to “Ann” to better fit in. She told stories of having to hide the pepper and egg sandwiches her mom made - wrapped in newspaper - below the lunch table at school to hide her Italian heritage.

She did well in school and after graduation went to work for the Travelers Insurance Company in Hartford as a stenographer. One of her high school teachers kept in touch and felt her skills were being underutilized and urged her to apply for a government job with the Veterans Administration in Newington, CT. The application process was not easy, but she won the job and worked there for many years before Christopher was born. She ultimately left to raise Christopher and be a stay-at-home mom for many years. During this time, at her husband’s urging, she took up golf and became quite good. She, in fact, won several tournaments and also served as Chairman of the Women’s Golf Committee. She loved to tell the story of when, in her early golfing career, her husband Bob was miffed when she won Golf Magazine’s Most Improved Golfer of the Year for Massachusetts when he had it in his mind that he was going to win the honor.

As the 1960s were ending and Christopher was entering high school, Ann entered a new chapter and attained the Graduate Real Estate designation, becoming a Real Estate Broker. She worked very hard building her real estate career, winning several awards and was inducted into the “Million Dollar Club” for several years for selling a million dollars of real estate - when the average home price was $60,000. Her success in real estate was due to her hard work and unwavering commitment, as that was the type of person she was. If she set out to do something, she always accomplished it - not that it came easy but by shear diligence. Her example instilled those values in her son Christopher.

One of the greatest joys of Ann’s life was when her granddaughter, Jina, was born. She became Jina’s caretaker 3-4 days a week while her parents were at work, staying overnight with them, taking care of

Jina during the day, and helping with housework while Jina napped. She did this until Jina entered preschool and then would pick up Jina after preschool most days. Ann was an enthusiastic participant at all of Jina’s activities, travelling to band recitals, softball games, marching band performances and even following Jina on parade routes when she was well into her 90s. Ann achieved a lifelong dream of getting to sleep on a train as she travelled to Chicago to see her granddaughter perform in the National Percussion Championships.

The entire family enjoyed epic Rhode Island vacations where Ann could be found walking the beaches and cautiously navigating the jetties while reliving the days of her youth spent at the CT shore. She could also be found occasionally getting stuck in the wet sand and tossing her radio into the ocean where it was never to be seen again.

When her husband passed in 2005, the one piece of advice he gave was to not give up the golf membership, so Ann, at the age of 82, took up golf again. It gave her great joy traveling over the familiar course that she had so many fond memories of while (ever the optimist), she daydreamed of being recruited by the PGA for the Super Senior tour.

When Christopher remarried, Ann welcomed Lori and her son, Ismael, into the family as her own. Referring to Ismael as her grandson came naturally to her and he felt the same. In Ann’s words, Lori was “the daughter she never had” and she doted on her. The sentiment was mutual as Lori considered Ann “the mother she never had”. Ann was proud that Lori had, as Ann put it ‘a big job’. Ann beamed and blushed when Lori told her that the reason she had a “big job” was because women like Ann had paved the way for that to happen. Without strong women like Ann, Lori’s generation of women would not have had the opportunity to have a “big job”.

Not only was Ismael Ann’s grandson, but she thought of him as her hero and partner in crime. He delighted in undermining Chris’ attempts to stop Ann from liberating restaurants of their sugar packets and raiding their candy dishes. They missed each other while Ismael was at university in Montreal and would call each other just to catch up.

Ann enjoyed cooking and baking and was generous, sharing her efforts with neighbors and friends. Whenever she made her famous apple cakes, she always made oversized batches for sharing.

She was an avid baker of Christmas cookies and baked dozens of varieties to make the many platters she’d share with family and friends. She would decorate each platter with the same level of care that she put into creating the intricate cookies themselves. One of Lori’s most cherished gifts from Ann is a thick, black book bursting with Ann’s handwritten cookie recipes.

Ann lived in her house on Powers Rd. in Sudbury until, at age 95, her health began to decline. Until that point, she lived by herself, cooking, cleaning, driving to get groceries, shopping for her bargains and, of course, tending to her beautiful garden. She would host the family and occasionally friends and neighbors for Wednesday night dinners, each one as intricate as a thanksgiving dinner. After a full day of cooking, she delighted in initiating conversation about current events and the topics of the day. She was the ‘the hostess with the most-est’ well into her mid-90s.

When Ann moved into assisted living and later needed help dressing, her private aide, Iris, took delight in coordinating Ann’s daily outfits from the clothing Ann had carefully curated over the years, accessorizing with her favorite jewelry and a different hat each day from her famous hat collection.

One of Ann’s favorite pastimes was bargain hunting. She hit the jackpot when she discovered a place called “put-and-take”. The concept was that town residents could “put” gently used items that other residents could “take” if they had a use for them. “Put-and-take” was where Ann found many treasures. At times, we would put in ’orders’ for things and she was thrilled when she could find the requested treasure and bring it home. The family used to tease her about the fact that she never seemed to “put” anything at the “put-and-take”. In life, though, Ann did indeed “put” more than she took. She gave everything she had to her family and friends ahead of herself. She truly left the world a better place.

A visitation for Ann will be held Thursday, November 10, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM at Duckett Funeral Home of J. S. Waterman, 656 Boston Post Rd, Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776, followed by a funeral service at 10:00 AM.