Ann Huntington (Gadd) Thom
05/12/1924 - 08/02/2017
Ann Huntington (Gadd) Thom died peacefully at 93 on August 2, 2017. Mom was a strong-willed, determined woman at a time when women were supposed to be neither. She fought tremendous adversity throughout her life, and raised four children in the process. Her integrity, compassion, sense of humor and pure spunk not only helped her survive, but thrive. Mom was an adventurous, curious and loving family matriarch, truly an incredible woman.
Mom grew up in Chicago and it was at the University of Chicago where she met her first husband, Richard Gadd, while completing her degree. Although she always had a soft spot for the Windy City, Mom fell in love with California when her husband was transferred to the Bay Area in 1957. She loved the hills, the Bay, and the wonderful diversity she found here. When widowed in 1963, Mom chose to remain in Oakland rather than return to her family in Illinois.
Mom loved trying new things including photography, gardening, Toastmasters, and French, and she had an absolute passion for art. She enjoyed walking or bicycling on the weekends around Lake Merritt or in Golden Gate Park. Mom had an affinity for water, spending time sailing on the SF Bay with her family and taking up canoeing in her 50s. She also loved travel and she took hundreds of flights visiting five continents. Mom also couldn’t resist taking a trip on the SST.
She was a voracious reader. She enjoyed book groups and current affairs discussions. It was in one such discussion group that she met Joseph Thom. Joe became her second husband and they had a very happy marriage until his death in 2005.
Mom loved being a Granny. She flew to Atlanta many times to visit her two oldest grandchildren, Richard and Jennifer. Kristen and Michael were born only months apart and Mom delighted in the two matching car seats in her backseat. Her next grandchild, Greg, was married recently and the wedding was about three weeks before she passed away. It was a beautiful ceremony and it was the last time most of the family was able to be together. Grace, her youngest grandchild, is the redhead Mom felt her Irish ancestry entitled her to.
In addition to the grandchildren above, as well as two great grandchildren (Ava, Malcolm), Mom is survived by her four children: Richard Gadd Jr., Peter Gadd (Betty), Rebecca Gadd (Ted Gillette), and Deborah Joseph (Brent).
A private family memorial service will be held at Lake Tahoe where Mom often rented a house for family gatherings. We will meet there again to honor her memory and continue building new memories as she so wanted us to do. Donations can be made to Doctors Without Borders, which she supported for years.