Anne Tatum Hayes, wife, mother, gardener, athlete, and active volunteer, died at home in her sleep, June 6, 2016, just five months after the death of her husband of 66 years, Dr. Leonidas "Lee" Hayes.

Born in 1925, Anne lived with her parents and sister near her Quaker father's family in the Philadelphia suburbs. During the Depression, the extended family all shared a home, steeping Anne in the values of peacemaking, cooperation, service and frugality. Anne's mother was from France, having met and married her husband while he served in France with the American Friends Service Committee. As a child, Anne spent every other summer in France, cherishing playtime with her extended family there. Anne loved playing outdoors and developed an enduring interest in the natural sciences.

A graduate of Radnor High School and Rosemont College, Anne was working as a lab technician when she met Lee. They married in 1949 and moved from Philadelphia to rural Pennsylvania, where Lee was a doctor and Anne focused on raising their six children. She and Lee were active in progressive politics, including protesting the death sentence for the Rosenbergs, and community improvement projects, notably helping to found the Yellow Springs Historical Society. Anne also began her involvement with efforts to improve conditions for people with developmental disabilities, having both a cousin and a son with intellectual disabilities.

When the family moved to Ellsworth in 1971, Anne met other parents of disabled children by volunteering during swimming lessons for disabled children and helped to found Downeast Horizons in 1974. Anne felt privileged to serve for six years on the Maine Commission on the Problems of the Mentally Retarded, including three as its chairperson. The Commission's work led to the signing of the Pineland Consent Decree and the establishment of group homes for the disabled throughout the state.

Anne's interest in international understanding brought her to the Ellsworth chapter of the American Field Service, which organizes exchange programs for high school students with other states and nations. She served as the chapter's president, hosted an exchange student for a year, and sent three of her children on exchange trips.

The Surry Opera Company provided Anne with another outlet for peacemaking, along with the joys of friendship and the challenge of music performance. She studied the Russian language before traveling with the company to the Soviet Union twice, and later to Russia, the Georgian Republic, Japan, Canada, and France. She also regularly attended presentations of the International Club, and was proud to host an International Club meeting at which her grandson Sasha spoke about his year studying in Japan.

Anne and Lee loved hosting social gatherings, including Democratic Party events with special guests George Mitchell, Joe Brennan, Walter Mondale, and Mike Michaud. After her mother came to live with them full-time, Anne began hosting teas with other French-speakers, gatherings that led to the formation of Le Cercle Francais, Hancock County's monthly francophone social. Anne maintained strong connections with her French cousins and travelled to France many times.

Anne was a longtime member of the Ellsworth Literature Club, giving reports on books she loved until she was 90. She was a member of St. Joseph's parish and taught Sunday School. Anne was a dancer and athlete in school, loved the Red Sox, and played tennis all her life. She so enjoyed her Ellsworth doubles group that she continued to attend monthly birthday parties 15 years after she had to give up the sport. An avid gardener, Anne delighted in sharing plants and putting away produce that she had raised. She also loved birding and even after her eyesight clouded she would wear binoculars around her neck to watch birds out the kitchen window.

With community service as one of her core values, Anne participated in the Maine Coast Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for decades, helping with committee work, serving as President, and diligently staffing the canteen or welcome desk with her daughters or with her neighbor, Lorna McCormick. Anne also served on the Ellsworth Historic Preservation Commission and was a member of Citizens for Responsible Development.

After her mother's death, Anne became an active volunteer with Hospice of Hancock County. She provided faithful, caring companionship to people in the final stage of life until she had to give up driving at the age of 87. When Lee received a terminal diagnosis of cancer, Anne devoted herself to his care, working with Hospice and family to keep him in comfort at home. She received her own terminal cancer diagnosis only weeks before Lee's death, and enjoyed her last months hosting a steady stream of friends and family.

In addition to her sister, Marguerite Cackley of Vorheesville, N.Y., and first cousins Robert Brebant and spouse Janine of St. Clare, France, and Jacqueline Brebant of Paris, France, Anne is survived by her sons: Jonathan of Ellsworth, and Bob and spouse Christina Rusnov of Winslow; daughters: Loie and spouse Julie Ogletree of Boston, Julie and spouse Norm Duphily of Auburn, Susie and partner Tom Cappiello of Palmer, Alaska, and Sarah and spouse Mark Dehler of Kanata, Ontario; grandchildren: Anne, Katie, Sasha, Aaron, Nora, Elizabeth, Micah, Nicholas; great-grandchildren: Patrick and Imogen, and many cherished nieces and nephews.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to HOME Inc., P.O. Box 10, Orland, ME, 04472; Hospice Volunteers of Hancock County, 14 McKenzie Ave., Ellsworth ME, 04605; and Downeast Horizons, 1200 State Highway 3, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609. Visitation hours Monday, June 13, 5 - 7 p.m. at Jordan-Fernald Funeral Home, Ellsworth; funeral Mass, Tuesday, June 14, 10 am. at St. Joseph's, Ellsworth; reception in parish hall at 11:30 a.m.

Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St, Ellsworth.

Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com