Anne G. Abel
ABEL, GORMAN, OCONNOR
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 1/8/2021 at 12:21:56
Anne G. Abel, 84, of Iowa City, Iowa, formerly of Wallingford, Pennsylvania for over 35 years, passed away peacefully on December 31, 2020 at St. Luke’s Transitional Care Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she was surrounded by her loving family.
Anne was born on January 12, 1936 in Baltimore, Maryland to Thomas Wittmore Gorman and Christina Wirth Gorman. She grew up in Baltimore, where she attended Eastern High School before continuing her education at Samuel Ready School, from which she graduated in 1954. She then went on to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at Salisbury University, graduating in 1958. Anne spent her junior year of college studying at the University of Hawaii. She married Edwin George Abel, Jr. on June 30, 1956 in Baltimore and spent 54 loving and memorable years together before he passed away in 2010.
Anne taught elementary school in Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina, before joining the Upper Darby School District in Pennsylvania. For over 25 years, she taught at Westbrook Park Elementary School in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania and served as Upper Darby Planetarium Director. Many teaching colleagues became life-long friends, continuing their monthly lunches virtually during the pandemic.
Anne’s many artistic pursuits included jewelry, silversmithing, and ceramics. Converting her garage into a full pottery studio with three kilns, she made masks inspired by African art along with tiles and vessels that reflected her interest in astronomy and the constellations. She was proficient in many glazing and firing techniques, including raku, and received several prizes at art center shows in the Philadelphia suburbs. Her ceramic angels and other Christmas ornaments were sold at local art centers, at summertime craft shows at the New Jersey Shore, and at galleries in New York City and Connecticut. She has an ornament in the collection of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.
She loved classical music and opera. She was a subscriber to the Philadelphia Orchestra for several decades, and to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she regularly attended performances with her son, Ted. Above all, Anne’s greatest joy was her family. Her loving presence will be missed by her family and all who knew her.
She is survived by her son, Edwin “Ted” George Abel, III, daughter in law Noreen O’Connor-Abel and her grandson, Seamus C. Abel, all of Iowa City.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Edwin George Abel, Jr., and her brother, Thomas W. Gorman, Jr.
A memorial service and burial will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania at a later date with details to be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Anne’s memory to the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081 (https://support.scottarboretum.org/donations/).
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
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