Anne Byrne
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Anne Byrne slipped peacefully away from this earthly realm early on the morning of Jan. 2. She had been admitted to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway the day before Christmas Eve for treatment of pneumonia. The care and attention she received from the nursing staff at St. John’s ICU was wonderful to behold, and her family will be forever grateful.
She was born in Donegal, Ireland to Catherine and Joseph Byrne on Jan. 13, 1932. The third of four children, Annie (as she was known to those closest to her) encountered the first and greatest sadness of her life at just four years old – the passing of her beloved mother. It was an event that profoundly impacted her and shaped the course of her life.
Anne was a young teen when she entered the convent and was accepted into the order of the Holy Union Sisters where she remained for 25 years. This is where she began her teaching career, which was to become her lifelong passion. Her time with the Holy Union Sisters brought her to America at age 18.
After leaving the convent, she gained a teaching position at a Brooklyn elementary school, P.S. 119. Anne earned her first master’s degree in education from Brooklyn College. Later, she also taught at P.S. 222, and after returning to Brooklyn College to earn her second master’s in supervision and administration, she went on to become that school’s vice principal for 12 happy years. Anne’s career in public education was a source of immense pride to both her and her family.
Excellence in education was Anne’s passion, and she pursued it with a vigor and an abiding love for children that was her personal hallmark. She was adored by her young students and treasured by their parents, who clearly recognized the investment she made in her pupils.
In addition to her work as a teacher and administrator, she is credited with having taken on and completed copious amounts of grant writing over the years, which resulted in her schools being awarded funds for programs to enrich the lives of the students she loved so well, and whose success in life meant the world to her.
Outside of school, Annie loved to travel the world on her summer vacations. A few of her favorite destinations included Paris, Hawaii, Greece, Israel, Egypt, England and, of course, her beloved home country of Ireland. Among the adventurous pursuits that brought joy to her active life, she became an avid skier and a proficient horsewoman. She remained a devout Catholic throughout her life and was proud to have been awarded the honor of damehood in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Her relationship with and love for her savior, Jesus, guided her all her days.
Annie also served as a steadfast caregiver over the course of many years, first to her older brother, Packie, and then to the first-born of her family, her sister, Kitty. She dedicated herself to their loving care, helping them to manage their challenging health issues with patience and compassion.
She loved art, theater, music, the New York Yankees and just being a New Yorker. Best of all, she loved to laugh. Annie will be forever remembered as a loving, devoted sister by her younger brother, Charles (who does not know how he will remember his children’s birthdays without her reminder calls!), as an adoring, generous aunt who spoiled Charles’s four grown children rotten, Vanessa, Wendy, John and Stephen, and as a wonderful great-aunt by Estefan, Lily and Charlie.
For those who wish to celebrate Anne’s (nearly) 92 years of vibrant life, visiting hours will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 19 at Beecher Flooks Funeral Home, located at 418 Bedford Rd. in Pleasantville. All are welcome. A funeral Mass will be offered at a chapel in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in neighboring Hawthorne beginning at noon.
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