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Annette was born in Waynesboro, VA on July 27, 1937. From stories she has told me over the years, she must have been a mischievous little girl, full of life and a spirit for fun.

She met and married my dad, they moved to Baltimore, MD, where my brother Mike and I were born. When I was six years old, Dad went into Active Duty as a member of the U.S. Army. Throughout his career, he shipped off for two tours of duty in Vietnam and multiple remote tours. Through it all, Mom was a shinning example of an Army wife. She supported Dad while unconditionally loving and raising two children, she kept the home fires brightly burning. She was quite the social butterfly. She volunteered regularly and loved to garden.

Skipping forward through a lifetime of devotion to family, she also formed many lasting friendships. I first noticed something different with Mom in 2015 when she traveled to my youngest daughter's high school graduation. Over the next couple of years, Mom continued to live alone and became good at making excuses for her growing confusion and forgetfulness. She began to isolate herself from her friends, staying home more and more. While at the same time losing interest in her home and gardening. I had to take over her financials and all bill paying.

In October of 2019, I finally convinced Mom to come live with me and my family. At first she did well as we prepared and celebrated the holidays. Over the next year, we shared family dinners and spent a lot of time together. It was obvious that her confusion was continuing to worsen. She began to physically decline as well. I knew that even though she was with me in body, I was losing my mother as she started to ask questions like, "Are you and Ben married." "Is this your house?" "Who is that man?" (my husband, Ben), and she began to forget her grandchildren's names.

Late November 2020, Mom started isolating herself in her room. She withdrew from us and the activities she had enjoyed. At this point she was easily frustrated. By December and January, she began to lose her appetite and started having serious nighttime issues - not sleeping and pain in her legs. She went from using a cane to a walker. By February, she couldn't walk without my holding her up. She was in a wheelchair in March 2021. She sobbed and cried throughout the day and her nighttime issues worsened. She stopped talking and had difficulty swallowing - she stopped eating and drinking. On March 31, 2021, Mom passed away in hospice care with my brother and I by her side... Forever in our hearts.