Ann Louise Gechman

Ann Louise Gechman (Annie) passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on November 19, 2025, at the age of 82. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Joseph Edward Bennett and Helen Fay (Friedman) Bennett. Annie was a hard-working, active, adventurous, and outgoing individual. She pursued her education at Boston University, where she studied English and Public Relations/Communications. On December 22, 1968, Annie married her soulmate Marvin Gechman in Newton, Massachusetts. They were happily married one month shy of 57 years.

Annie’s career was marked by significant achievements while working for many notable companies such as Atari, Sega, and Applied Materials. She held positions in technical writing, marketing, and consulting and also served as VP and COO at several other high-tech companies. Annie’s professional interests led her to start and run companies such as The Tennis Bug, The Ann-Lo Group, Canyon State Business Group, Art Mediums, Escon Inc., and CLASS.

Horses were a major part of Annie’s life. She grew up riding both Western and Dressage styles and loved competing in horse shows. Annie also loved racquet sports, which led her to compete in the East Coast Amateur Tennis Circuit. She continued to play tennis, racquet ball, and pickle ball throughout her life. Annie also spent many years playing the piano and loved music. She received a piano scholarship to Juilliard, though she chose not to accept it, wanting to pursue a business career instead.

Her personal interests led her to becoming an active board member for the Phoenix Youth Symphony and the Phoenix Opera. She was also active on the MUFON Research Team and John Denver’s Windstar Foundation.

Annie is survived by her spouse, Marvin; brother, Edward; daughters, Kimberly and Michele; and sons-in-law, Cory and Steve. Her legacy continues through her grandchildren, Amy, Craig, and Tobias. She is also survived by her stepdaughters, Allyson, Robin, and Kelly, and their families: sons-in-law, Pat, Tom, and Ken, seven grandchildren—Jacquelyn, Brandon, Steven, Sarah, Nathan, Ryan, and Abigail and seven great-grandchildren—Alexis, Hope, Maddox, Sloane, Jordan, Sutton, and Aria.

Annie will be remembered for her fun-loving adventurous spirit, infectious smile, love for her family, giving nature, dedication to career, wit, and contributions to her family and community. She will be greatly missed.

Annie will have a funeral service at Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery. The service will be held in the Sunbird Room, located at 10940 E Chandler Heights Rd, Chandler, Arizona, 85248. The service is scheduled for Monday, December 1, 2025, starting at 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating flower funds to Alzheimer's Prevention Research via The Alzheimer's Association, or to Alzheimer's family/caregiver support via the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. The link is found below.