Ann (Maki) Anderson, of Plympton, who had lived and raised her family in Pembroke, died on April 2, 2016, at the age of 80 surrounded by her loving family.
She was a first-generation American, her parents having emigrated from Finland in 1925. She fondly remembered bringing her children to the family sauna on Sundays and introducing them to her Finnish culture. Proud of her heritage, Ann attended many Finnish festivals and traveled to Finland. Ann enjoyed tonup on a farm and took pride in many of the routine chores that it took to operate it, such as working in the chicken coop and tending the cranberry bog. As a graduate of Pembroke High School class of 1954, Ann was very active in organizing later class reunions. She worked at Ocean Spray for a short time and in later years drove a school bus for the Silver Lake school district.
Ann's joy and passion, however, was raising a family of five that kept her busy shuttling kids to baseball games and school activities. Along with her husband of 42 years, Raymond, she helped form the Cub Scout Pack in Pembroke, where she was a den mother. She was intensely involved with her ten grandchildren’s lives. You would always find “Mummu", the Finnish endearment for Nana, cheering on the sidelines and attending their many activities and events.
She enjoyed cooking and canning vegetables for her large family, and hosted many family events. She enjoyed watching the Red Sox and Patriots games. In later years, she traveled internationally to Canada and her parents’ homeland, Finland. She was a proud member of the First Congregational Church in Hanson. She was a member of the East Bridgewater YMCA where she enjoyed water aerobics and many other activities. Ann lived with rheumatoid arthritis, but she was determined to prevent it from keeping her from doing what she loved. Her strength and resilience was among her notable characteristics that the Finns called “Sisu”. She died of sudden pulmonary complications from rheumatoid arthritis.
Ann was the daughter of the late Nestor and Margaret (Hautala) Maki of Pembroke. She was the loving wife of the late Raymond E. Anderson. She is survived by her five children, Raymond N. Anderson and his wife, Carol, their daughter, Ami, and her husband, Adam Poeschl, all of Kingston; James Anderson and his wife, Amy, of Plymouth and their daughter, Helen; Brian Anderson and Theresa Casey of Plymouth, and his children, Kendra, Keith and Rebecca of Kingston; Jeffrey Anderson and his wife, Pam, of Halifax and their children Sam and Lily; Karen and her husband, Joseph Salters, of Hanover, and their children, Kristine, Lauren and Michael; a sister, Aileen Hanson of New Hampshire, and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her loving companion and high school classmate, Addison “Mike” Learned III of Abington. She was the sister of the late Onni, Toivo, Lauri Maki, Ellen Anderson and Taimi Metzger.
Visiting hours will be at the Shepherd Funeral Home, 216 Main Street, (Route 106), Kingston, on Friday, April 8, 2016, from 4:00-7:00 PM.
Funeral services will be held at the First Congregational Church, 639 High Street, Hanson, on Saturday, April 9, 2016, at 10:00 AM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Arthritis Foundation.