Anne Mudd Cabaniss
Anne Mudd Cabaniss, 93, a native of Birmingham, Alabama and longtime resident of Alexandria, Virginia, died January 19 at the Inova Alexandria Hospital. A Southern lady to the core, she was an unforgettable presence to anyone who knew her. Passionate in her convictions, tenacious, generous, considerate, thoughtful, curious, energetic, loyal, proud of her heritage, creative and enterprising, she was committed to righting wrongs and promoting deserving causes until the very end. Mrs. Cabaniss was the only survivor of six children born to William S. Mudd and Nellie Lee Nabers, both of Birmingham, Alabama. Four of her siblings died in childhood and her brother died in a flight training accident in Alabama during WWII. Her father died months after her brother.
After her 1949 marriage to Jelks Henry Cabaniss, Jr., she traveled the world as a US Army wife, including three years in West Point and three years in Germany, eventually settling in Alexandria. There she raised her family, creating beauty and inspiration in home and garden while promoting conservative ideals through thought and action. During the 1970s she authored three cookbooks: two volumes of the Delectable Cookery of Alexandria with her friend Polly Norment Burke, and separately, The Conservative's Cookbook: In Your Mouth You Know It's Right. She and her husband also maintained a home in Sperryville, Virginia for many years.
An avid reader, in the 1980s she founded and managed Greenhouse Books, a bookstore in Marshall, Virginia, and delighted in exposing all ages to great literary and historical works. She also created Greenhouse Publishing to bring back into print classics that she loved, emphasizing Southern literature and children's classics.
In later years, she created the General John J. Pershing Reflective Essay Awards at the West Point Military Academy, in partnership with her late husband's friend and West Point classmate, General John H. Cushman, an essay competition for cadets on "the high ideals of duty, honor, and service to the country."
Mrs. Cabaniss' lifelong love of history and animals is reflected in her contributions to such Stratford Hall, the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, and Arlington Historical House and Gardens in Birmingham.
Mrs. Cabaniss is survived by her son, Jelks H. Cabaniss III and his wife Eliana; daughter Nabers Cabaniss Johnson and her husband Christopher; grandsons Henry Cabaniss Johnson and his wife Heidi; Alexander Cabaniss, Jelks H. Cabaniss IV, and Leigh Cabaniss; and great-grandson Werner Haeberle Johnson. She was predeceased by her husband Jelks H. Cabaniss, Jr. and her daughter Ayn Mudd Cabaniss.
A graveside service will be held Friday, February 3, 2023 at Little Georgetown Cemetery, 5370 Trapp Branch Rd, Broad Run, Virginia 20137 starting at 2:00 p.m.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.moserfuneralhome.com