Ann Marie Sanchez, 83, of Homosassa, FL, passed away on Sat., Feb. 27, 2021 at Shands Hospital at University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. A native of Brooklyn, NY she was born May 11, 1937 to Joseph and Nancy (Sherlock) Thornton, one of four children. Very proud of her Irish heritage, Ann Marie was a first generation American as her parents were both born in Ireland; her father born in Kilkenny and her mother in Sligo. Mrs. Sanchez’ professional working life held many facets. She was primarily an office manager for different insurance companies; namely Prudential, Massa and Miller, and Chubb, but she also held positions early in life as a telephone operator for New York Telephone and as an EKG and ultrasound technician. Ann Marie and her loving husband of 63 years, Raymond Sanchez, moved to Flanders, NJ from Brooklyn and lived there 27 years. They then moved to Hudson, FL where they lived for 9 years, finally retiring to Homosassa. Ann Marie loved going to shows and concerts with her husband, golf, and as a talented and gifted beader, she made beautiful bracelets. She also loved to travel and had visited Ireland multiple times. Ann Marie’s last trip was to Ireland to watch her grandson Alex compete in the All Ireland World Games in hurling, which is Ireland’s national sport and the “fastest game on grass” and visited family. An avid fan of ice hockey, she also had five grandkids who competed and she enjoyed traveling from Canada to Virginia to watch them play, as all of her grandchildren were among the biggest passions in her life. Sanchez family vacations that she also loved were visiting Hilton Head, Cape Cod, The Outer Banks and the Jersey Shore. Ann Marie also loved to read, cook, listen to Irish music and entertain and enjoyed spending time with her friends from Flanders, NJ, who all retired and moved to Hudson, FL at just about the same time. Mrs. Sanchez’ perfect day would involve reading the newspaper with a cup of tea and being surrounded by her family. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by siblings Joseph Thornton and Kathleen Thornton Caggiano and her husband Robert. Ann Marie is survived by her loving husband of 63 years, Raymond Sanchez of Homosassa, FL; children Gregory Sanchez (wife Lori), Flanders, NJ; Denise Sanchez Houriet (husband Andy), Wycombe, PA and Steve Sanchez (wife Lucie), Scituate, MA: brother Patrick Thornton (wife Linda), Mint Hill, NC; and grandchildren Drew Houriet (wife Tania), Haddonfield, NJ; Nick Houriet, Baltimore, MD; Alex Houriet, Pittsburgh, PA; Melissa Sanchez, Hoboken, NJ; Chris and Matt Sanchez, both of Flanders, NJ; Hailey Sanchez (Jack) and Casey Sanchez, both of Scituate, MA. Wilder Funeral Home, Homosassa, FL. A Virtual Memorial Service on Zoom will take place on Fri., March 19, 2021 at 5:00 P.M. Interested parties please email [email protected] for instructions. www.wilderfuneral.com
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