Ann Elizabeth Lindley

July 8, 1918 - April 9, 2011

Resident of Redwood City

In Loving Memory of Ann Lindley, born July 8, 1918, in Macon, Georgia, who on April 9, 2011, entered peacefully into the arms of her loving husband, Vern, who preceded her in death. She will be greatly missed by her children, Jerry Lindley (Cindy), and her daughters Maureen Vanderpan (Don), Janice Bruce (Donavan), and Carol Martin (David), her grandchildren, Kim Akin (John), Tammy Bordisso (Mike), Justin Lindley (Erica) and Jenna Lindley as well as many great grandchildren.

When Ann celebrated her 90th birthday at a family reunion at her former home in Pescadero, California, she was presented with a cake that illustrated the four segments of her beautiful life. First, a Georgia Peach from her birthplace, an Irish Shamrock, which depicted her early years living in Donegal, Ireland, then the New York Big Apple, which marked her teens and twenties living in New York where she met and married her merchant marine husband and headed for sunny California, where they settled and raised their family.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, April 13th at 12:30pm at St. Pius Church, 1100 Woodside Road, Redwood City.

BIO OF ANN LINDLEY

Hi, I'm Carol, the baby in the family, and I speak for all of mom's children when I say that we had the privilege of knowing and loving, and being raised by, an incredible mother and woman....Ann Lindley. Mom was so beautiful, inside and out, and was a true inspiration to me, and to MANY people.

My mom always handled herself with such grace and class. She had MANY loyal friends in her lifetime (many of them long gone)....but with my mom, friendship was sacred, and she taught me through her actions, not her words, that the way you treat people is how you are remembered. As a result of that, mom was loved by SO many people.

You probably won't believe me when I tell you that my mom never raised her voice at me, or at anyone, that I ever witnessed. It was just not in her. She was a very kind and gentle soul.

When we were kids, we definitely flustered her, as you can imagine, but she somehow had the ability to never get angry, and I have never really seen such a thing in any other person that I've ever known. It was remarkable.

Now, she WOULD say to us kids, "wait till your father comes home" :-) But even THAT was said in a gentle way, never in an stern tone. It was just an amazing thing to witness....not at the time of course, because I didn't really know better, but as an adult, looking back, it was to me, very unusual, and being her daughter, I sure wish that some of that would have rubbed off on me... :-)

My mom never had a bad thing to say about anyone. And this is such a rare trait. She really did live by the motto, if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all.

A few years ago, when our family celebrated my mom's 90th birthday at a family reunion at her former home in Pescadero , my sister Jan had a cake made that illustrated the four segments of mom's life.

The cake was first decorated with a Georgia Peach for her birthplace in Macon, Georgia. Then there was an Irish Shamrock, which depicted her early years living in Donegal, Ireland.

Then there was the New York Big Apple, which marked her teens and twenties living in New York where she met and married my dad, Vern. And last, on the cake was a bright colored sun, symbolizing sunny California, where they honeymooned cross country and settled to raise their family.

My mom didn't have any memories of Georgia, but Donegal Ireland definitely made its mark on her, where she lived with her three sisters, Celia, Margie, and Catherine, her brother Johnny, mom and dad. Mama lost her father, when she was very young, but still was totally spoiled by her three older sisters.

They had a wonderful life in Donegal, with lots of relatives, since that is where both her mother and father were born.

When the decision was made one day to move the family to New York, mama Cassidy gathered her son and the four daughters, and they boarded the ship to set sail. The family home was left to relatives, and happily, in 1989, I was able to visit that family home. Many years after that, my sister Maureen also took a sentimental trip to Donegal.

The long haul across the ocean marked the beginning of my mom's very exciting life in New York, and where she grew into quite the exquisite young lady that we all knew her to be.

And now, for her love life....

Before the war began, my mom became engaged to a New Yorker who then went into the service. And then, DURING the war, a merchant marine ship came into port..and...my mom and dad met each other. My mom did not want to have anything to do with this new suitor.

She was out having dinner at a big band club with a friend that she had not seen for ages, and my dad approached her, smitten, and asked for a dance. My mom said no. My dad INSISTED, and she said no, that she really wanted to visit with her friend that she had not seen in so long. My dad would not give up. He insisted that if she would just dance with him ONE time, that he would leave her alone.

So they danced. And he most definitely did not leave her alone. My dad and his friend joined the table, and then, at the end of the evening, escorted them both home in taxis. My dad told us kids that he decided that night that he would marry my mom. On the next date, he actually told my MOM that he was going to marry her. But she was engaged already, and he didn't care.

Many years later, this former fiancé decided that he had to visit my mom, and meet the man that stole her heart, and I remember fondly that visit from the New Yorker who came to our home on Bonnie Court. As would be expected, the visit went very well, and they all remained lifelong friends.

But back in New York, in 1941, my dad had to board his ship, and for the next year, he visited in short spurts, and sent dozens and dozens of letters to my mom, outlining in great detail, his hopes and dreams for their future together in California.

My mom would sit on the beach with her girlfriends and read all of these letters over and over again, and enjoy all of the gum, and cigarettes and other rationed items that my dad would send them.

Then they were married and traveled to California on their honeymoon, settling with my dad's family on their ranch in Pescadero. But my mom was definitely the baby in her family and missed her mom and sisters terribly. My dad knew this right away, and embarked on his mission to move every single Cassidy to California which he did. Since her family settled on the other side of the mountain, it was time to leave the ranch and buy a home in Redwood City.

This marked the beginning of life in Redwood City, being members of the St. Pius parish, with all the kids attending school here. Mom was a fabulous home maker, and was always so proud of her kids, and all of our hobbies.

We had a great childhood, and eventually dad found a little cabin in South Lake Tahoe, where we spent all of our summer vacations. We have the cabin to this day, almost 45 years...and we will always cherish our memories there.

Our family spent the last 47 years together on bonnie court, surrounded by great neighbors and friends, celebrating many family get togethers. My mom said she always loved her home on bonnie court and never wanted to leave, and we are very happy to say that she never did.

We feel really blessed to have had our mom as long as we did, and will cherish every memory of our family life together.