Anne Field
March 24, 1946 - Feb. 2, 2025
On February 2, 2025, in the comfort of the beautiful home that she worked for years to ensure was a welcoming, comfortable, and loving place to all, Anne Gage Field died peacefully. Anne was the steadfast and adoring wife to Hyman Harrison Field Jr., devoted mother to David (Liz) and Elizabeth, loving sister to Stephanie (Ken), and dedicated Nana to Henry, Graham, Harrison, and Liam. She was also pretty special to her granddogs, Maisie and Waffles, who (like all of us) miss her dearly. The heart of her life's work was to protect, nurture, and inspire children of all ages. A celebrated teacher, she earned the deep respect of her colleagues, the gratitude of many parents, and the adoration of generations of students. The school where she spent most of her career (St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School, Washington, D.C.) shared this tribute: "Anne joined St. Patrick's in 1994. During her tenure, she served as a learning specialist, primarily supporting students in Grade 1 while also working with students in Grades 2 through 5. She possessed a nuanced understanding of the concept of "Exceptional Literacy," helping to shape our collective sense of the possibilities in the relationship between the individual and the text within the classroom and beyond. In 1998, Anne was the Recipient of the O’Neill-Carew Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, an honor given to teachers at St. Patrick’s who have demonstrated a love for the children they are teaching and also a dedication to being the best educator possible. Anne was a teacher to her core, always learning more about and working on her craft. She excelled as a theoretician, diagnostician, program innovator, teacher, and colleague. With a seriousness of purpose, Anne set a standard for those around her, and the legacy of her curricular work lasts to this day. Defining Anne by her many professional talents does not capture all of who she was. Anne was a kind and generous teacher who had a heart for each child’s learning journey. She delighted in hearing about her past students’ successes and would frequently ask about them long after they left St. Patrick’s." In addition to her excellence as a teacher, Anne cared deeply for the world in which we live. A life-long democrat, she never stopped learning, broadening her understanding of others' perspectives, and fighting for the rights of all, especially the most vulnerable. If she were the one writing this, she'd tell everyone to stop focusing on her and to start fighting for our democracy until it's too late! Her commitment to our world, however, extended beyond politics and teaching to her commitment to the environment. Nothing was more beautiful to her than the salt marsh in the South Carolina low country or a line of pelicans gracefully taking to the sky or the gentle sunset over the dunes of Kiawah Island. An avid walker, she was known to pick up trash around the neighborhood, doing what she could, even in small measure. It was that same commitment to our planet and that insatiable appetite for knowledge that led her to the conclusion that Natural Organic Reduction was, as she put it, "the most ethical choice." We, her family, are forever proud of her for blazing this trail. And we are grateful to the compassionate and thoughtful professionals at Earth Funeral for helping us make her preference a reality. A service celebrating Anne’s life will be held on Friday, March 21, 2025, at 4:00 pm at St. John’s Lafayette Square, 1525 H St NW, Washington, DC 20005, with a reception immediately following. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Anne to the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys (https://www.bishopwalkerschool.org/) or to Horizons of Greater Washington (https://www.horizonsgreaterwashington.org/)
