Ann Marguerite Dunleavy-Gannon

Ann Marguerite Dunleavy-Gannon of Bethesda, MD, passed away at home with family by her side on November 25, 2021, after living gracefully for decades with a rare auto-immune disease that affected her liver. Born December 15, 1938, in Barre, Vermont, the oldest of five children, she was predeceased by her parents, Dr. Thomas P. Dunleavy and Claire B. Dunleavy, her brother, Thomas P. Dunleavy, Jr., and her sisters, Martha Dunleavy Pellegrini (Richard) and Mary Josephine Dunleavy. Ann is survived by her devoted husband, Thomas M. Gannon, loving children Mark T. Gannon (Sara) and Kathleen C. Gannon (Devin), two adoring grandchildren, Claire and Sullivan, her sister Catherine Dunleavy LeClerc (William), and numerous nieces and nephews.

Ann was a proud Vermonter who never forgot her roots in Barre, where she attended Lincoln Grade School and Spaulding High School. She went on to attend Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana on a scholarship. She served as student body president and received the first Lumen Christi award – created for her – which is now given each year to a senior who is an outstanding person of faith, who has excelled in leadership and has had a deep and good effect on the Saint Mary's community. It was also at Saint Mary’s, while studying Humanities, that she met the love of her life, Tom Gannon, a student at nearby Notre Dame.

After graduation, however, Ann felt called by her faith to join the Sisters of the Holy Cross and become a Catholic nun. She earned a Masters degree in theology at Saint Mary’s, a Masters degree in psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and taught at Dunbarton College in Washington, DC. Eventually, in 1968, Ann decided to leave the Holy Cross Sisters, but continued her vocation as an educator, teaching at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec, as well as helping to establish Vanier College, also in Montreal, and chairing the Humanities Department there.

After 17 years, Ann reunited with Tom, moved back to Washington, DC, and, in 1978, they married and started their life together. Ann and Tom had two children, Mark and Kate, and settled in a house in Bethesda, where they lived for 38 years. After taking some time off to raise her children, Ann returned to work, first at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Government Center, then at the Crossway Community, and finally at the Foundation Schools, where she served as Admissions Director and a counselor to students with emotional challenges and their families. She developed close and long-lasting friendships everywhere she worked.

Motherhood was an unexpected blessing for Ann, who had been told by doctors not to even try to have children given her age. She was unconditionally loving and loyal as a mom, supportive of any endeavor that Mark or Kate expressed an interest in. In particular, Ann could be found on the sidelines at sporting events – first at rec league games and later at Whitman High School, Penn, and Harvard – cheering on her children and their teammates in equal measure. In the last three years of her life, Ann became a grandmother – a role that she was born for. Claire and Sullivan loved their Nana with all their little hearts, and Ann found ways to connect with them even near the end of her life.

In 1989, in the midst of her busy life as a wife and mother of young children, Ann was diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a rare auto-immune disease that affects the liver and bile ducts. She was told she had ten years to live, entered a clinical study at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and began taking experimental drugs in the hopes that they would treat this disease that has no cause and no cure. Thanks to the exceptional care that she received at NIH, and most likely also thanks to her own strong constitution and positive outlook on life, Ann lived for 30 years with PBC barely registering in her daily life. But eventually, after turning 80, it became clear that the medications and her own body could no longer stop the progression of the disease. Throughout her illness, Ann lived with grace and gratitude, never taking a day for granted and never missing an opportunity to thank others for their kindness, generosity, and care. Ann will be remembered as a radiant light in this world, brightening it with her loving spirit and warm smile. She will be dearly missed.

A funeral Mass and celebration of Ann’s life will be held on Friday, December 10, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, DC, preceded by a visitation at 9:30 a.m. Private inurnment at Holy Rood Cemetery.

Donations in Ann’s memory may be made to the American Liver Foundation or to the Father McKenna Center. Family and friends are invited to visit www.josephgawlers.com for additional information.