IN MEMORIAM:  Ann Stewart, 60;

Mainstay At CGP, Active In FOMA

COOPERSTOWN – Ann Louise Stewart died May Day 2016 in her mother’s home in Cooperstown. She passed away peacefully after a yearlong battle with ovarian cancer.

Born in Buffalo, May 15, 1955, Annie was the second daughter of Ruth and Milo V. Stewart, Sr.

Annie received a B.A. from Kirkland College, and an M.A. in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Her father, Milo, was instrumental in the creation of that Program.

Annie moved to New York City in 1977 where she soon became a director of a photographic library of several million images. She worked with photojournalists from around the world. She was known to have an astute eye for detail – a family trait. She shared with her father a love for photography and with her mother, an appreciation for the textile arts, food, and an aesthetic of balance.

Annie married Russell Honicker, a photographer whom she met in New York City, in 1989. The couple had their son, Weston, in 1991.

Annie was a sublime cook. With her hands and heart, and love of plants, she created what could be the most memorable garden in Cooperstown.

She was a mother. She mothered not only her son, but the sons and daughters of others. During her 25 years in Manhattan she became a beloved teacher at the Children’s Garden in the Bronx Botanical Gardens.

After moving back to Cooperstown in 2002, Annie began working at the Cooperstown Graduate Program where she assisted in the office and enjoyed sharing her photography skills with the students. She was also the editor of the Alumni Newsletter.

Annie also worked with the Historical Society of Early American Decoration, where she ran day-to-day operations, which extended to their Annual Conference.

For years she helped organize Cabaret Night — a talent show and chicken dinner to raise money for scholarships for Cooperstown Central School Art students.

The Friends of Music and Art, FOMA, was but one of her many cherished organizations. Annie was also a diva among divas for all the years back in Cooperstown, singing with the Fly Creek Philharmonic. She loved to sing with her friends. She included everyone, and excluded no one.

Annie was predeceased by her older sister, Cynthia Stewart, and her father, Milo V. Stewart, Sr, of Cooperstown.

She was survived by her mother, Ruth Stewart; her husband,  Russell Honicker, her son, Weston Honicker and his fiancé Cady Kuzmich; sister Beth and her husband Jose Sola, and their sons Kyle, Troy, and Hunter; sister Sarah Stewart and Bobby Amore, and her son Noble Matson; brother Milo and his wife Jennifer Stewart, and their sons Henry and John; sister-in-law Jan and her husband Mark Michener, and their children Caitlin and Ian; brother-in-law Cliff Honicker and his wife Jackie Kittrell ,and their sons Myles, Beckett and Conrad Honicker.

Annie requested donations in her memory be made to support CGP students during their summer internships. She had utmost respect for the director and staff of CGP, and would like all to contribute. Donations can be made to the Rural-Urban Partnership, an endowment for students at CGP. Checks payable to College at Oneonta Foundation, and mailed to Cooperstown Graduate Association, P.O. Box 4, Cooperstown, NY 13326.

A memorial gathering will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at the Cooperstown Graduate Program.