BRIGGS, Annie Marie (née Gallagher), 93, Plant City, passed away peacefully July 25, 2016. She was once asked if she wanted her obituary to read "went home to be with The Lord", and replied that she thought that would be presumptuous.
Annie was born November 14, 1922, in Presque Isle, ME, the second of eight children to Jerry and Lily (Sharp) Gallagher. She graduated from Garland (Maine) High School in 1941 and loved telling people she was Valedictorian. She would then pause and add with a laugh that there were only five in her class.
For many years she co-owned and worked hard in the restaurant that carried her name, “Anne's Grill” in East Corinth, ME.
Annie was a longtime member of the East Corinth United Methodist Church and active in United Methodist Women (UMW). She sang in the church choir and also worked as the Church secretary for 20 years. When she and her late husband, Larry, retired to Florida, they transferred their membership to Grace United Methodist Church in Plant City where she became involved with choir, handbell choir, UMW, and was the long-time chair of the Worship Commission.
Annie joined Good Samaritan Chapter #38 Order of Eastern Star, Kenduskeag, ME, in 1951 and served as Worthy Matron in 1964. She also served as Mother Advisor for the Dexter (Maine) Assembly #19 Order of the Rainbow for Girls.
As a child, Annie lost an infant brother, Junie; later in life three of her younger siblings, Carley, Helen and John, died as young adults. Through all, her faith in God never wavered. She believed that God had put her on earth to help others, which she quietly did. As a divorced mother of four, struggling to make ends meet, she opened her home to an elderly couple, friends who were in greater need than herself. Soon after their marriage in 1964, she and Larry made room in their home for her parents. Her father died in 1967. Annie's mother continued to live with them until her death in 1992.
Born into a very musical family, Annie had a voice like an angel and used it throughout her life to glorify God. In her teens, she and her sister, Helen, and their friend, Ingrid Olson, sang many times as a trio on a radio program hosted by their minister, Bob Holcomb. She was a frequent soloist at church and at many special occasions in the community. She traveled throughout the state to sing for chapters of Eastern Star.
Annie loved to sew and crochet and both gave her endless pleasure. She was famous for her Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls, which won several blue ribbons and best of show at the Strawberry Festival. Along with other women in the church, she spent many hours sewing nap quilts for little ones and adult bibs for the nursing home. She liked to quilt and watch sewing shows on PBS, while she sewed and crocheted for the annual church Christmas Fair. Each Christmas, hanging her crocheted snowflakes on the tree will be a tender reminder of her. Annie also loved to read, often as much as a book a day. But if she found a "bad word," she would throw the book away.
Annie was married to Larry Briggs from 1964 until his passing in 1993. She lost her older brother Ralph in 1990 and her youngest sister Joan “Jody” Bridges in 2013. Her step-daughter, Janet Briggs Heberger, passed away in 2007.
Left to cherish her memory are daughter, Jeanne Jerfsten and husband Arne, and their son, Evan, Rehoboth Beach, DE; son, M/Sgt. John Kobritz, USAF, Ret., Plant City; daughters, Deborah Kobritz, Tampa, and Barbara Kobritz, Cortland, NY; brother, Richard “Dan” Gallagher, and wife, Caro, of Roanoke, VA, very special great niece, Kim Snook, Merritt Island, FL, who spent many summers with her Aunt Annie in Garland; her "like a son" neighbor, Bob Pietras, and best friend, Sylvia Falany, both of Plant City; and her church family.
She is also survived by three step-children Gary Briggs, and wife Maureen, of Sebec, ME; Jeff Briggs, and wife Lindley, of Newburyport, MA, Mary Jane Smith, and husband Earl, of Nova Scotia, Canada, and their families, along with generations of nieces, nephews and cousins.
The family would like to express their grateful thanks to her Pastor, Rick Phillips, and the staff of Carrollwood Care Center for the loving care they provided our mother at the end of her life and to her physician for many years, Dr. Adela Oliva.
Contributions in Annie's memory may be made to Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, 51 Children’s Way, Enterprise, FL 32725, Grace United Methodist Church, 1801 E. Cherry St., Plant City, FL 33566, or to the charity of your choice.
A service to honor her memory will be held at a later date. Her ashes will be interred in Maplewood Cemetery on the hill overlooking her beloved home in Garland.
Arrangements by Hillsboro Memorial Funeral Home, Brandon.
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