Anne Elise Pemberton

The daughter of Norah and René Venezia, Anne Elise Pemberton was born and grew up in the London Borough of Hounslow, County of Middlesex, in the United Kingdom. After high school, she attended Cardiff University, in Wales, and then transferred to Holborn College of Law, Languages and Commerce, in London, specializing - and distinguishing herself - in French and Spanish Studies. In Cardiff, she had also added Italian to her repertoire, her interest being stimulated by her father's Italian roots.

After completing her studies, and obtaining an M.A., she became an assistant in the London Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco, subsequently moving to a position as translator in an import company in the City of London. After a successful period there, she became a translator in one of the largest reinsurance brokers in the City. In 1968 she had married Ralph A. Pemberton, and in 1980 they spent six months in Monterey, California, where Ralph had been offered a teaching contract. This was her first substantial contact with the United States, a country that was to encourage the development of her many talents.

In 1982, Ralph became a translator in the World Bank in Washington, D.C. For Anne, this began more than 40 years of residence in the United States. Finding America truly congenial, she blossomed, becoming more confident and outgoing. Although at first visa restrictions prevented her from taking paid employment, she readily volunteered to act as a language coach for high school students, and as an interpreter in medical clinics. All the while, she was further developing her life-long interest in classical music (she played the violin), and gradually became increasingly fascinated by visual arts. Lured by its color and malleability, she was attracted by glass as a medium, specializing first in stained glass, and later moving on to fusing, for which, ever curious and enthusiastic, she devised some innovative procedures. She taught glass crafts in the studios of Glen Echo Park (Bethesda, Maryland), and became a prominent member of the National Capital Art Glass Guild, successfully participating in many exhibitions in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and other parts of the United States.

Unfortunately, the illnesses that were increasingly to affect her made it difficult to continue working in a medium as difficult to manipulate as glass; nevertheless, her indubitable visual talents next found an outlet in photography, which she studied in depth and pursued with considerable success. In addition, she had become a skilled and knowledgeable gardener, and the meticulously designed flowerbeds around her house delighted her neighbors and visitors throughout the seasons.

Tall and elegant, she was strikingly beautiful in her youth, and remained attractive in her later years, retaining her sense of style, yet never showing the slightest trace of vanity. As might be expected from a visual artist, she also had a keen dress sense, red - in its various shades - being her favorite color. In character and manner, she was unfailingly gracious toward everybody she met, treating all with kindness and generosity, which, combined with her quiet sense of humor, instantly put people at their ease. Her gentle nature was also reflected in her love of animals, particularly cats, dogs, horses, and birds. At the same time, she was outspoken in her condemnation of cases of injustice, and she abhorred any form of violence.

Her illnesses progressed, however, principally affecting her lungs and also impairing her mobility. Finally, she lost the ability to walk or stand, and eventually to swallow or breathe properly, and even to talk, enduring all her suffering with extraordinary grace and courage. Her death has been a devastating loss for her loving husband, her grieving relatives in England and France, and her very many friends in various countries across the world. She has left a great void in all our lives.