Ann Louise DeTurk of Hartland, Vermont passed away on Tuesday, February 28th at the age of 58. She was at home surrounded by her family.
Ann was born in Wiesbaden, Germany on September 13th, 1964 to Boyd Reynolds and Beverly (Thennis). Her younger brother, Michael, was born four years later. They spent their childhoods in Germany and Spain, growing up and going to school on the military bases where their parents worked as educators. A lifelong runner, one of Ann’s fondest memories was, while still in high school, training for and running the Paris marathon with her father, Boyd. She also enjoyed spending summers with her extended family on the Bohn family farm in Webster, South Dakota, with her cousin and lifelong friend Kathy.
Ann came to the United States for college in 1982, first attending the University of Texas at Austin before transferring to join Kathy at the University of South Dakota. After graduation in 1986, she and Kathy spent a summer working as nannies in Darien, Connecticut. Next, they came to Vermont, where Ann only intended to stay for one winter, but then she met Dave DeTurk and she never left. They have been together ever since.
Ann also found her calling as a teacher here, working in various positions around the upper valley. In 1992 Ann and Dave were married, and in 1995 she gave birth to their daughter Rebecca, followed by their son Dylan in 1997. When the kids were born she took a break from teaching for several years in order to spend all day with them. Instead, she taught aerobics – bouncing the kids around with her wherever she went. In 2000, Ann and Dave built their dream home in the hills of Hartland.
In 2004, Ann got a job teaching at Hartland Elementary, a position she held and cherished for 18 years. In teaching she found her true passion, teaching not only of facts and figures but of tolerance, understanding, and compassion for all others, which for her was the greatest lesson of all. She constantly strove to be better for her students and earned her Master’s degree in 2016 while teaching full-time. She also met her closest friends while teaching at Hartland, where she was known for always wearing blue and purple, being goofy, and making people laugh.
Ann loved reading, language, puzzles, music, animals, and her garden. She could always be found listening to a musical theater soundtrack or a dance track from the eighties. She was extremely creative, had a talent for drawing and crafts, and enjoyed creating costumes for school theater productions. She was passionate about exercise and especially enjoyed running, rock climbing, and even tap dancing. Her favorite activity of all was walking up the trail behind her house with her dogs, Maddy and then Gizmo. She also had a love of sailing, and in recent years enjoyed spending time in the small sailboat that Dave found and fixed for her. She led a life filled with adventures like scuba diving in Nevis and Antigua, riding camels around the pyramids of Egypt, space camp at Cape Canaveral, visiting Mayan ruins, and surfing in Fiji, to name a few. Ann and Dave celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary last year.
In May of 2022, Ann was diagnosed with brain cancer. It was a brief but extremely courageous battle, and she chose to remain positive throughout. A special thank you to all those friends and caregivers who enabled her to spend her final days at her home on the hill.
Ann was predeceased by her mother Beverly and her father Boyd. She leaves behind her brother Michael, her husband David, her two children Rebecca and Dylan, and her beloved dog Gizmo.
Private services will be held at a later date. An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com
