Anna Bush “Ann” Hart, of West Mt. Airy, a teacher at Germantown Friends School for more than two decades, died Sept. 23 of heart failure at Arbor Terrace in Chestnut Hill.
Mrs. Hart had taught French at Germantown Friends from 1967 to 1984, when she went to the University of Pennsylvania to coordinate international fellowships and assist foreign scholars. She retired in 1990.
Born in Waterbury, Conn., she lived in difficult circumstances during the Great Depression, but a teacher who recognized Mrs. Hart's remarkable intellect encouraged her to pursue her education. She graduated from Crosby High School in Waterbury as the valedictorian of her class at 17 and received a full scholarship to Smith College, becoming the first member of her family to attend college.
While teaching history and French at Amherst Regional High School, she returned to Smith College to obtain a master's degree. She applied for and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study French history in Dijon, France, and traveled to France on the S.S. United States with her young children.
Until the last few years of her life, she traveled extensively throughout the world with friends or her daughter. She also doted on her four grandchildren, taking them to museums, making each their favorite meal, teaching them to cook, and giving them exotic items from her many travels.
Mrs. Hart's marriage to Henry Hart Jr., of Williamstown, Mass., ended in divorce.
She is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth; four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. A son, Henry, preceded her in death.
A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at Germantown Friends Monthly Meeting, 47 West Coulter St., Philadelphia, PA 19144.
Memorial donations may be made to the Germantown Monthly Meeting. – WF
