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In memory of

Anne Austin Williams

Basking Ridge, NJ

May 17, 1923 - December 16, 2021

May 17, 1923 - Dec 16, 2021

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Anne Austin Williams

Anne Austin Williams died peacefully at Fellowship Senior Living in Basking Ridge, New Jersey on December 16, 2021 at the age of 98. “It’s a beautiful day”. That was what Anne said many times a day, every day – it was the way she looked at life, rain or shine.
Anne was born in Washington D.C. in 1923 into a Navy family. She moved every few years with her father, Rear Admiral Charles L. Austin, her mother Marjorie and her sisters Jane and Mimi. There were postings to naval stations in Pensacola, Florida, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and San Diego, California, among others. Anne spent two years at the Punahou School in Honolulu and graduated from The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California. She made friends easily at each new location and maintained friendships throughout her life with classmates from the various schools she attended.
After Anne’s graduation, Admiral Austin’s next assignment took the family back to his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Anne was the secretary for the Chaplain of the historic Academy Chapel. She loved her time living at the Academy and the active social life that came with it. Anne and her sisters had dates with midshipmen every night of the week except Thursdays, which they reserved for washing their hair.
During the second half of World War II, the Austin family moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where Anne worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence (O.N.I.) handling secret documents. She met her first husband, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Olaf Nedland-Pedersen Jr. in Newport. They were married in 1944, moved to Houston, Texas and had two sons. After his sudden death in 1947 Anne moved back home to her parents in Short Hills, New Jersey. In early 1949 Anne was introduced by friends to Clarence Edwin “Eph” Williams, another Navy man. Anne proposed to Eph at the end of every date, and they were married in October of that year.
Anne and Eph lived a long and happy life together, filled with hundreds of football, hockey and baseball games for their five children and later, their grandchildren. Anne was an avid gardener and a longtime member of the Short Hills Garden Club. She volunteered on behalf of many charities, including the Twigs auxiliary organization for Overlook Hospital. She played tennis well into her 80s, and took long walks and swam laps well into her 90s. Anne loved to go to parties; with her big smile and bright red lipstick she was often the life of the party.
The family had a summer home in Bridgehampton, New York and the beach was one of Anne’s favorite places to be. She also loved to travel, having accompanied her husband all over the world travelling for business and pleasure. After Eph died, she accompanied family members on numerous trips to South America and went on solo adventures to faraway countries like India, Egypt and Russia. She was fearless - getting lost in a country where she did not speak the language was just her idea of a fun way to meet new people.
Anne is survived by her four sons, Nedland and his wife, Brooks, of Marblehead, Mass., Charles and his wife, Judy, of Bridgehampton N.Y., Thomas and his wife, Muffin, of Pottersville N.J. and Peter and his wife, Ruth, of Peapack N.J.; and 9 grandchildren, Christina Williams, Anne Sibley, Lindsey Williams, Whitney Williams, John Williams, Patrick Williams, Maxwell Williams, Austin Draper and Olivia Draper; and 4 great-grandchildren, Stella Sibley, JJ Sibley, Charles Sibley and Elliott Williams. She was predeceased by a daughter, Emily. A memorial to celebrate her life will be held in the Spring.

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