Dover-Foxcroft, ME: Beverly “Ann" (Johnston) Whittaker, age 77, joined the Lord on Wednesday January 30, 2019 at Mayo Regional Hospital after a brief illness.
She was born in Brockton on March 4, 194 to Edwin Berce Johnston and Velma Doris (Rogers) Johnston. She graduated from Brockton High School in 1959 and earned a Bachelor of Science Education degree from Framingham State College in 1963.
She is survived by her daughter Catherine Cryan and husband Michael their daughters Lillian, Rosalie and Heather of Haverhill; her son Douglas who has a son Gustave and daughters Samantha and Danielle of Slidell, LA; her son James and his wife Maryrose, who have sons Harrison and Casey and a daughter Grace of Orr’s Island, ME; as well as her sister Marylin Leedberg of Brockton.
On June 15, 1963, Ann Johnston married Francis Ervine Whittaker who was a devoted husband and passed away in March of 2011. Mrs. Whittaker was a public servant with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Development for over 20 years as a Community Planner. She was particularly proud of her accomplishments as a block grant administrator in the Main Street Program on rural development maintaining the downtown character of many smaller towns in western Massachusetts. The importance of her work keeping the unique character of these towns alive was recognized by the President of the United States through a Presidential Citation. Once she had an empty nest, Mrs. Whittaker chose to expand her horizons; at the age of 62, she earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston with summa cum laude honors.
Mrs. Whittaker was well known for her involvement in her community while raising her family in Holliston. For example, she enjoyed her work on community theater productions with the Curtain Timers as a director of multiple productions and an officer. She also served on the Holliston Conservation Commission for many years. After earning the prestigious Curved Bar award as a Girl Scout, she actively supported her children in Scouting, and the Girl Scouts recognized her efforts with an award as an Outstanding Volunteer.
Mrs. Whittaker spent many of her golden years enjoying her Camp in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine on Sebec Lake. She was known as an avid entertainer and took great joy in her ability to cook. Along with her husband, she hosted nightly events including sunset cruises to the “Big Lake” with friends and family on their classic 1965 Chris Craft Sea Skiff. Ashore, tending to her container gardens on the pier and playing cards with guests were some of her favorite aspects of lake living. The importance of entertaining and spending time at the Camp was evident to the very end; while she was living at Pleasant Meadows full time in Dover-Foxcroft she would host day trips for the residents to spend afternoons on the pier enjoying their lunch and the cool breezes and lake views she loved so much.
Visiting hours will be held Thursday, February 7, 2019 from 9:00 to 10:30 AM at the John C. Bryant Funeral Home 56 Pemberton Road (off Rte. 30), Wayland.
Her Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00 AM at St. Patrick’s Church, 46 East Central Street (Rte. 135E), Natick.
Interment will follow in the Whittaker family lot in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Pond St., Natick.