Nov. 28, 1924-Dec. 19, 2006
Anne Marie Darcy Severns died at the age of 82 on Dec. 19, 2006 at the Mennonite Home in Albany, where she had lived for the past seven years.
Her sense of humor, quick wit and spirit had endeared her to her caregivers who treated her as they would their own family members.
She was born in New York City on Nov. 28, 1924 to Margaret and James Darcy, who had both immigrated to America from Ireland via the famous Ellis Island Terminal. They had a son, James, who was four years younger than Mrs. Severns.
Both of Mrs. Severns’ parents died at an early age, leaving her to move in with her aunt Anney at the age of 15. Her brother James was placed in foster care and moved from home to home. In order to help him and be able to pay for transportation to visit him on weekends, Mrs. Severns began working as a nanny.
Gradually she progressed from one office job to another until landing a prized position at the famous Gossard Foundations Company. Until then she hadn’t been able to reveal her actual age.
When she turned 20, she met and fell for her future husband, Gerald Dean Severns, who was in the U.S. Navy and on leave in New York city when they met. They were married on June 3, 1947 and moved “out west.” Her relatives in New York thought the west was still an unsettled wilderness inhabited only by cowboys and Indians.
Anne soon had three children, Gerry, Brian and Greg. From that point on her sons were at the center of her life even though she almost always worked outside the home while her boys were in school.
The Severns family moved to Sweet Home in 1956, and Mrs. Severns was soon involved in a variety of civic, church and school-related activities. She was president of the PTA and a den mother for the Cub Scouts of America. She sang in the St. Helen’s choir and also performed for many years in the “Chips and Splinters” variety show, which was part of the annual Sportsman’s Holiday event.
While in Sweet Home, she became aquainted with many of the area’s women while working at Juverns Ladies Apparel.
In 1967, Anne moved with her husband, Gerald, to Medford, Oregon where she continued working retail sales at J.C. Penneys. A few years later, she moved to Portland and began looking for a more full-time diversion since the last of her sons had left the nest. She studied for her real estate license and was soon working from Bucher Real Estate Company, first as an agent then later as a broker. She was successful until being slowed down and eventually sidelined by some unfortunate accidents.
Mrs. Severns loved the sun, and her five grandchildren spent many summer days with her at her swimming pool. In her later years, she devoted many hours to her grandchildren and three great grandchildren. she was able to vacation in Palm springs and traveled to Hawaii twice.
Before going to the Mennonite Home in Albany, Anne moved back to Sweet Home and lived briefly at Wiley Creek community, but another accident and broken bone made independent living too difficult.
Mrs. Severns is survived by her sons, Gerry and Greg of Sweet Home and Brian of Portland, and brother, James Darcy of Long Island, N.Y. She also is survived by five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Services were held Saturday, December 23, 2006 at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Sweet Home. Memorial donations may be made to the Mennonite Home in Albany or Wiley Creek Community in Sweet Home.