Ann Bradford Mathias

Ann B. Mathias, 83, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, died on February 19, 2012 from complications related to Pneumonia. She was married for 51 years to the late Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. who was a U.S. Senator from Maryland.

Mrs. Mathias arrived in Washington in 1951 as a part of the wave of new college graduates that had come to work for the recently established Central Intelligence Agency. She remained with the agency until her marriage in 1958. She later worked both as an elementary school teacher and as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Maryland State Department of Education.

Mrs. Mathias was an avid naturalist and gardener who loved the beauty and simplicity of the natural environment. Her garden in Chevy Chase, complete with its array of wild birds, was a particular sanctuary for her as were her summer visits to a small island off of the coast of Maine. A black Labrador retriever was her constant companion.

She had a combined love of politics and public service and was an active partner and participant in her husband’s numerous campaigns for public office, often walking ten miles a day door-to-door campaigning during a typical election cycle. She also was a devoted mother and grandmother, providing both generations with an appreciation of the peace and joy to be found outdoors.

During her six decades in Washington she remained an active member of the community serving as the first Board Chair of The Lab School of Washington after it separated from the Kingsbury Center in 1982, and, at various times, a board member of the National Home Libraries Foundation, the Visiting Nurses Association of Washington and The St. Alban’s School. She was awarded the Whitney M. Young award by the Greater Washington Urban League, honoring her work with Operation Rescue, a literacy program targeting at-risk youth in Washington.

Ann Hickling Bradford Mathias was born on September 21, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her Father, the late Robert F. Bradford, served as both Lieutenant Governor and Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Her mother was the late Rebecca C. Bradford.

Mrs. Mathias was married to Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. in November of 1958, days after he was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. They lived in Frederick, Maryland until they moved to their Chevy Chase home in 1965. Her husband died in 2010.

Mrs. Mathias has two sons, Charles and Robert, a daughter-in-law, Sarah, and two granddaughters, Clare and Catherine, all of the District of Columbia. She also has two brothers, Charles E. Bradford of Marshfield, Massachusetts and Robert H. Bradford of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her sister, Rebecca Chase, predeceased her. Mrs. Mathias has 12 nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is being planned for a future date. In lieu flowers, contributions may be made to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, 1450 Lisbon Street, Lewiston, Maine, 04240 or the Audubon Naturalist Society, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland, 20815 www.anshome.org