It is with deep sadness and heavy heart that we mark the passing of Anne T. Tuttle, peacefully, on July 20.
Anne Clara Temple was born on March 15, 1933, to Marguerite and Sydney Temple in Evanston, Ill., where her father was attending seminary. She spent her childhood in towns where her father, Sydney Temple, was an Episcopalian minister: Los Angeles, Calif.; Hagerstown, Md.; New York, N.Y. and Essex, Conn. Anne attended and graduated from Riverdale School for Girls in New York City, during which time she spent one year at Down House, a British boarding school, while her father was studying at Oxford.
She spent a summer with her brother Hunter in Holland at a UN work camp and then traveled around Europe in a Volkswagen.
Anne was a proud alumnus of Tufts University’s Jackson College. While at Tufts, Anne met George Tuttle, who was studying at Middlebury. They married on June 18, 1955. George was in the ROTC, so they started their married life living in Army housing at Fort Bragg, N.C.
While George was at Yale University, sons Grant and Charles were born. The family car was a motor scooter. The adventures started and never seemed to stop. Anne and George’s journey took them from New Haven to Hanover, N.H. to Boston to Crawfordsville, Ind., and then to Centerville, Mass. and what became the family home for 30+ years, Grey Gables on Wequaquet Lake. Sons Brian and William were born along the way, so with four boys in tow, their journey included exploring the USA in the motorcoach Puff; “gunkholing” the northeast seaboard aboard the 36’ ketch Macaw; weekly treks to the “ski house” in Peru, Vt.; flights to Oshkosh Air Show in the Twin Bee seaplane; and more.
While raising four sons on Cape Cod, Anne was an active member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Barnstable and later St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Osterville. She was a longtime member of The Beach Club in Centerville. She loved her time as a pre-school teacher, and then she was the genesis behind Tuttle Travel Services. An agent at Church Travel in Osterville, she and George decided to buy the agency, which became the largest travel company in southeastern Massachusetts.
The last great adventure was refitting a 92-ft. steel-hull canal barge in Belgium, transforming her into a graciously comfortable yacht. For many summers, Anne and George plied the canals from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea aboard Volharding Anna, which they wintered in Auxerre, France. The adventures were countless and legendary.
Searching for a winter home, Anne and George found a diamond in the rough on St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They transformed “La Hutte” into a magical family home overlooking the Caribbean Sea. There they enjoyed many years of peaceful island time, punctuated by the occasional hurricane.
Anne was active in the Unitarian Universalist Church, reading to the children at St. John’s public school, and acting as treasurer of the St. John Yacht Club. Her tireless efforts on behalf of the Virgin Islands National Park earned her the Volunteer of the Year award in 2006.
Anne had a deep love and respect for learning. Always reading, exploring, questioning. Books, travel, art, theater and museums were all things that brought her joy and kept her endlessly curious.
An avid sports enthusiast at home, Anne loved to cheer on her favorite athletes, especially the Tour de France cyclists. Every Sunday was dedicated to golf or the New England Patriots, with family and friends. Without a doubt, you could always find Anne near, on, or in the water. And at day’s end, marveling at the sunset.
Anne was a beloved mother to four loving sons: Grant Burlingame Tuttle of Carson City, Nev.; Charles Palliser Tuttle of Centerville, Mass.; Brian Temple Tuttle of Centerville, Mass.; and William Warner Tuttle of St. John, USVI. She leaves her loving brother Hunter Temple of New Mexico, and 10 adoring grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. John
PO Box 751
St. John, VI 00831
Funds will help support much-needed access to technology for local school children.
A celebration of life will be held on Cape Cod soon, hopefully during the autumn season.
