Ann Burridge Alderks, born on Aug. 12, 1931, passed away, with family around her, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
Ann was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She enjoyed her family and friends, loved sailing, and teaching others, whether it be history, or weaving, or a song, or how to sail a boat. She was generous with her time and gifts, and she made a wonderful cherry pie.
Ann grew up in Green Bay, Wis. Sailing was a big part of her life: her Lightning sailboat taking her on many adventures and after-school sails; sailboat racing; and cruising with her family in Door County and on Lake Michigan.
Ann attended Carleton College and graduated with a degree in History in 1953. It was at Carleton College where she met Phil Alderks. Ann and Phil were married in June 1953 and went on to graduate school, where Ann earned a master’s degree in History from the University of Iowa in 1955.
Ann and Phil’s life together included living in St. Louis, Mo. for 16 years, while Phil taught Art and then was headmaster at St. Louis Country Day School. They also lived in Charlotte, N.C. and Petersburg until moving to Urbanna, where they lived and sailed for close to 30 years.
Ann loved to teach. She taught history at a junior college at night in St. Louis, and later taught high schoolers at Charlotte Country Day School in Charlotte, N.C., Bollingbrook School in Petersburg, and at Christchurch School in Christchurch, where she also ran the sailing program. Student participation in the sailing program increased while Ann was at the helm.
Ann got interested in weaving while living in Petersburg and joined a local weavers guild. She continued to weave, teaching others her craft and had a small shop in Urbanna where she sold her weavings for a few years.
Living in Urbanna, near the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay, Ann and Phil loved to sail their sailboats, the Eroica and then the Fairbairn, and did so for many years, making great friends and cruising the Chesapeake Bay with family and other Urbanna yacht club members.
In 2010, Ann and Phil moved to Galloway Ridge, a retirement facility in the Fearrington community of Chatham County, N.C. Ann volunteered in the library at Galloway Ridge and was a member of the non-fiction book club. Her weavings were exhibited throughout the facility of Galloway Ridge.
Ann was loved by her family who survive her, including her four children, daughters, Claire Miller (John) and Sarah Brown (Michael); sons, Randy Alderks (Terrie) and David Alderks (Amy Ballard); eight grandchildren, Carrie Miller (Keirnan Willett), Shannon Miller (Ryan Pattty), Zach Miller (Avery), Chris Brown (Danielle), Lyell Brown (Briana), Jarrett Brown, Alex Alderks (Gabrielle), Avery Alderks; four great-grandchildren, Amelia Claire Willett, Nora Willett, Jude Miller and Aiden Brown; and two sisters, Belle Scott and Jennifer Bagley.
She was predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Philip W. Alderks; and her parents, George Nau Burridge and Eleanor (Spig) Armstrong Burridge.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff on the Cypress Hall at the Arbor at Galloway Ridge, who took such good care of Ann while she lived there. The family also wishes to thank the Wisdom Caregivers, Liberty Hospice and all the staff at Galloway Ridge for their kindnesses towards Ann.
A family celebration of Ann’s life is planned for Nov. 9 at Galloway Ridge in Pittsboro, N.C. and a private interrment will be at the Middlesex Memorial Cemetery in Urbanna at a later date. Memorial tributes and messages of sympathy can be left at www.BrowWynneCary.com in the “Add a Memory” box.
