Anne W. Long

Anne Wellnitz Long, formerly of Charlestown, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at the Crofton Care and Rehabilitation Center in Crofton Maryland on Good Friday, March 25, 2016.  She would have celebrated her 85th birthday on April 14. Born at the height of the Great Depression to Carl F. Long and Marie V. (Wellnitz) Long, she was raised in Staten Island NY.  Although of modest means, her parents were determined to provide college educations for their children; Anne earned a nursing degree at Harvard/Radcliffe while her older brother, Carl, studied engineering at MIT. She remained in the Boston area working as a registered nurse at local hospitals and as a floor supervisor at Mass General, then went on to work for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in various capacities concentrating on elderly and children’s care. Ms. Long grew up attending Park Baptist Church in Staten Island. She became an Episcopalian, joining Trinity Church in Boston.  Later, she was an active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charlestown.  A seeker all her life, her library contained many books on Christianity as well as other world religions and she frequently took spiritual retreats to the monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, MA. Ms. Long’s other passions included The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Symphony and politics. She believed strongly in giving a voice to the oppressed of the world, supporting a number of causes nationally and internationally. Ms. Long considered herself a “World Traveler,” and had a flair for finding herself in interesting locations at interesting times; she was on holiday in Cuba when the Castro-led revolution occurred, resulting in an adventurous return to the United States. Other notable destinations included Lapland, China and Tibet. Ms. Long is survived by her nephew Carl of Bowie MD, her niece Barbara of Arlington, VA and her sister-in-law Joanna of Hanover NH.  Her ashes will be interred at Moravian Cemetery in Staten Island NY, near her parents and beside her aunt Anna Wellnitz, at a later date. Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow; I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain; I am the gentle autumn’s rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush, I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there; I did not die. author unknown