Anna Ziegler December 17, 2022

Anna Ziegler, 80, of West Palm Beach, formerly of Stamford, passed away December 17, 2022, after recent months of declining health. Anna was born in New Rochelle on January 13, 1942, the daughter of educators, Pearl and Donald Ziegler. She and her older brother, Richard, grew up in New Rochelle. The family spent summers on Vinalhaven Island in Maine’s Penobscot Bay, and ultimately relocated to Camden, ME.

Anna attended the University of Maine at Orono, majoring in Elementary Education, and graduating with her B.S. in 1963. She received her M.A.T. in Elementary Education from Manhattanville College in 1977 and completed Sixth Year Studies at Manhattanville in 1985.

While at the University of Maine, Anna met and fell in love with George John Papadopoulos. With him, she lived in Thessaloniki, Greece, from 1963-1965, teaching school and learning Greek. She was strongly influenced by those years with George who, despite Anna’s three later marriages, was possibly the love of her life.

Anna’s niece and nephew, Jennifer and Richard, have fond memories of their aunt. She was a tall, poised woman who would arrive at holiday celebrations with a flourish of energy, captivating her young relatives with her smoothly flowing, measured and engaging voice. One time she arrived for Christmas with a new cat that she’d rescued from a gas station on her drive north!

Although she had no children of her own, in her thirty-seven years of teaching she impacted the lives of hundreds of young people. She taught 17 years at the North Mianus School in Greenwich, and then spent 20 years at the Osborn School in Rye, encouraging students to master basic skills and to derive satisfaction and pleasure from learning, inspiring in students a sense of wonder and excitement, and love of literature and the arts. Following her retirement from the Osborn School in 2005, Anna moved to West Palm Beach.

Anna was a classy, elegant, and strong woman with long, neatly flowing hair, always a pop of lipstick, big rings on many fingers, and a kind, wise smile. She enjoyed people, culture, and friendships. At the same time, Anna was a private person who lived her later years independently, nurturing her beloved cats, pursuing her antiquing hobby, and volunteering locally.

Thanks are extended to all her local friends, healthcare professionals, and to Anna’s caring neighbor, Chip Ruvolo.

Contributions in Anna’s name may be made to either the Miracle Pets Program at PBC Animal Care and Control, Attn: Customer Service, 7100 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33411, or the Rye Fund for Education, 555 Theodore Fremd Ave., Suite B-101, Rye, NY 10580.