Ann Silk Gaton

Ann's calling in life was to help others.

She was born August 15, 1936, in Winthrop, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Rose Midman Silk and Jack Silk. Raised in Roxbury, she was a devoted student who spent her weekends at the Boston Public Library. She graduated from Girls' Latin School in 1954 and went on to Simmons College, earning her degree in physical therapy in 1959. She commuted more than an hour each way by trolley and two buses to complete the demanding program, which included clinical training at three of Boston's leading hospitals. At the same time, she earned a Bachelor of Jewish Education from Hebrew Teachers' College and taught Hebrew on Sunday mornings to pay for her commute.

Ann began her career at Queens General Hospital in New York and later moved to Santo Domingo. There, during a 1963 polio epidemic, she joined a small team that opened El Centro de Rehabilitación para Niños Lisiados, a rehabilitation center for children affected by the disease. Resources were scarce, so the team trained local aides and improvised splints, crutches, and braces to keep the work going. She called those four years the greatest professional challenge of her life.

Widowed at 38 with three young children, Ann raised her family in Framingham, Massachusetts. For sixteen years she was the physical therapist at St. Patrick's Manor nursing home, working during school hours so she could be home when her children returned. The staff and residents became her extended family. At 50, she earned a master's degree in healthcare administration from Framingham State College. In 1991 she fulfilled her dream of living on the beach and moved to Sarasota, Florida, and she later made her home in Columbia, South Carolina, for more than 20 years.

Ann was kind, compassionate, and endlessly giving. She was a devoted volunteer, most often tutoring young children in math, English, and writing. She was the matriarch at the center of her family, and her greatest joy was the people she loved: her children, her grandchildren, and her friends and their families.

Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Jordi Gaton. She is survived by her children, Dr. Freddy N. Gaton (Lisa), Richard J. Gaton (Wendy), and Evelyn T. Gaton; grandchildren, Dr. Jordi Gaton (Dr. Jennifer), Devyn Gaton, Taylor Ann Barrett (Cory), and Samantha Gaton; her sister, Susan Ehrlich; and several nieces and nephews.

Memorial services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice in Ann's memory.

Snow's Memorial Chapel, Bass Road, has charge of arrangements.