Anne Ruth (Lief) Willis

Anne Lief Willis

August 31, 1943—December 16, 2024

81 years old

Anne Willis of Manchester, CT passed away on Monday evening December 16, 2024. Anne was the loving wife of David Willis, with whom she shared 53 years of marriage. Born in St. Louis, Missouri to the late Milton and Rose Lief, she is a graduate of the University of Missouri where she met her sorority sisters with whom she became lifelong friends. After college, she moved to Boston in 1968 to be near her East Coast family and begin work as a laboratory technician at Beth Israel Hospital, where she met her husband, David. She and David were married in Boston in 1971. They then moved to New Orleans, LA, where they adopted their first child, Lauren, and then moved to Ft. Wayne, IN and had their second child, Abbey. The family moved to Connecticut in 1991, where Anne continued her work as a medical technologist.

Besides her husband, Anne is survived by her two daughters, Lauren (and husband, Joe) and Abbey (and fiancée, Deric). The light of her life were her three grandchildren: Elijah, Max, and Sophie, all of Connecticut. Some of Anne’s fondest memories were the annual family vacations in Rhode Island, spending time in the Caribbean, and all her Consulting Ophthalmologist friends, with whom she worked for two decades before retirement. She is also survived by her sister Debra of Portland, OR and her three daughters (Autum, Hillary, and Ashley), and her brother Laurence of San Francisco, CA and his two children Derek and Jessica.

Anne found joy baking her famous rhubarb crumble and screaming at the TV during NFL and UConn Women’s basketball games. One of the biggest loves of her life was her dog, Boomer, with whom she spent over a decade. She also loved picking out gifts for her family, window shopping with friends, and wondering aloud about the world with anyone and everyone.

A service will be held at Congregation Adath Israel Synagogue, at 10:00am on Friday, December 20, 2024, followed by a graveside burial at Adath Israel Cemetery, 714 Pine Street, Middletown CT. A reception will follow thereafter with family and friends at the synagogue. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ECHN Visiting Nurse and Health Services of Connecticut (Hospice Care Services) or to Congregation Adath Israel Synagogue, P.O. Box 337, Middletown CT 06457. To share memories or send condolences to the family, please visit www.doolittlefuneralservice.com.

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