Anne Robinson D'Olier

Anne Heaton Robinson D’Olier passed away on July 8th, 2014 in Sandpoint, Idaho the town she loved so dearly. Anne was born in New York City July 5, 1949. She grew up in Manhasset on the north shore of Long Island. She graduated from Oakwood Friends School in 1967 and later attended Emerson College in Boston. At the end of 1970 Anne got the itch to come out west settling in Aspen, Colorado and beginning her lifelong love for skiing. Starting from the Snow Chase Lodge where she met and later married her first husband Bill D’Olier, she worked her way through a skier’s paradise over the next 5 years from Aspen to Alta and Snowbird in Utah and even up to Schweitzer. During this time Bill and Anne bought a piece of property near Sandpoint in the Selle Valley area which had a barn where she first lived in Sandpoint. In the summer of 1975 she moved to Fairbanks, Alaska after divorcing Bill, although they would be lifelong friends. In Alaska, Anne quickly found work through minority hire as a union laborer on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline where she endeavored to prove herself as a hard worker and not just gifted with a job. During this time Anne would work summers in Alaska and then travel back down to Snowbird to run the office at Wasatch Powderbirds heli-ski operation where she took the opportunity to ski when there was an open seat on the chopper. In 1980 while working on the Alyeska pipeline, Anne met her second husband Dave Cory. They would eventually marry and have two children, Matthew Cory (1984) and Alexander Cory (1988). Together they enjoyed various world travels ranging from a honeymoon in Kenya, to a tropical retreat in Fiji. Along the way Anne also would attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks from 1984-1988 where she graduated with a BA in history and minor in business. In 1989, Anne moved back down to Sandpoint to a place she knew and loved. A place where there were regular growing seasons and much less darkness. Anne always loved everything about the Sandpoint and North Idaho region in general, including the awesome skiing at Schweitzer, the sailing possibilities on Lake Pend Oreille, and the rich soil that she loved to garden in. Around this time, Anne divorced from Dave Cory and began her life working in Sandpoint and raising her 2 sons. During the mid-90’s she worked as ticket manager at the Festival at Sandpoint in the summer and in the winter worked up at Schweitzer at Anne’s in Green Gables and as a salesperson/buyer for Finan Mcdonald, and later on in the 90’s for Coldwater Creek in the warehouse. In 1999 Anne moved with her sons to Hayden, Idaho and it was here that she began to have memory problems. In 2006, Anne finally agreed to see doctors and in 2008, they diagnosed her with having early onset Alzheimer’s. She lived with the disease getting progressively worse and taking away the one thing our mom could not live without, her self-sufficiency. Anne was known by her many friends as a loving and creative lady that always had a great amount of positive energy to put forth into her endeavors and brighten the lives of those around her. She was an incredibly understanding and accepting person. She loved to read about the world around her and then travel and actually see it in person. She loved to talk with those she didn’t know and enjoyed simply sitting back and watching the diversity that would unfold at a public place in a major city. She cared deeply for respecting ones elders and also cherished politeness and manners. Also did we say that she loved to ski!? She also enjoyed tennis, sailing, and travel to name a few other things. Anne was preceded in death by her mother Nancy Scott, her father David Robinson, and her stepfather Robert Blanc. She is survived by her sons, Matthew Cory and Alexander Cory; her sister, Scottie Harrison and husband John; her step-brothers Robert and Roger; and her nephews Nicko and Sam. The family also would like to extend a special thank you to both Dorris Norton and Heather Strong for years of compassionate friendship and care and to the Huckleberry Retirement home for their exceptional care in her last months. A memorial Service will be held at 2 pm August 23rd just outside Sandpoint at the residence of Pam Aunan at 213 3rd Street in Dover. Please bring a snack or beverage. Come share your memories, pictures, and stories of Anne. All are welcome. Quaker style silent grace/open worship; see link http://www.funeralwise.com/customs/quaker/