Ann Lenore Lawson Weiss

Mrs. Ann Lenore Lawson Weiss, longtime Greencastle resident, loving wife and mother of four children, passed away on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at the age of 93 in Chesterfield, Mo., where she moved last year to be near family.

Ann was born on Aug. 29, 1926 in Detroit, Mich., to Horace Lowe and Marjorie (Congdon) Lawson.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and sociology from Albion College in 1948 and a Master of Arts in speech and theater from Northwestern University in 1950.

Ann had outlived her husband of 67 years, Dr. Robert Orr Weiss, who passed away on Jan. 31, 2019 in Greencastle, and her two younger sisters.

She is survived by her daughter Betsy Omidvaran (Shahab) of Dublin, Ireland; son John Weiss (Martha) of St. Louis, Mo.; son Jim Weiss (Jony) of Arcadia, Calif.; daughter Ginger Danz (Jonathan) of Fayetteville, W. Va.; four grandchildren, Sandra Bosak (Brad), Lauren Weiss, Zora Danz and William Weiss; and one great-grandchild, Clarabelle Ann Bosak.

Her lifelong love of art, poetry and literature was reflected in her own pottery and interest in crafts and dramatics, which she shared with her own children and others as a workshop and Girl Scout leader, and in her large collection of books, which continued to surround her to the end of her life.

She also supported and contributed to many community service organizations, including the United Methodist Women, the NAACP, Contact volunteer counseling service and the PTA.

In midlife she returned to her calling as a teacher, teaching freshman English and communication at DePauw University. In addition, in collaboration with her husband Bob, she was instrumental in establishing and directing the oral communication competence program at DePauw and served among the founders of the National Association of Communication Centers.

She is remembered by family and friends as smart, kind, open-minded, spiritual, a deep thinker, psychologically insightful and a lover of animals, individuality, religion, creativity and the rights of everyone. She got what all of us want: a good long life, a wonderful family full of love and laughter and a peaceful death.

The family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support from friends, former students and extended family members.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish, please send donations to either the Humane Society of Putnam County, hspcanimals.org, or the Teaching Tolerance Project, www.splcenter.org/teaching-tolerance.

Bittles & Hurt Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.