Through the blood of Jesus Christ, Ann Collins Chadwick, 88, arrived healthy and full of joy at her heavenly home on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 after a courageous battle with dementia. Ann was born in Starkville, Mississippi and grew up in Okolona, the eldest child of dairy farmers. Upon graduating from high school, she married Roy Collins and began an adventurous life as a Navy wife and mother to two girls, Joyce and Janet, moving 20 times in 20 years. When they were 11 and 9, Ann finally pursued her dream of higher education, earning her BS in 1973 and then a Master of Nutrition and Food Science in 1976 from Mississippi State University. She later moved on to new challenges, and ultimately settled in Alexandria, VA after her marriage to Thomas W. Chadwick in 1982. Ann’s impressive career took her from Bryan Food’s first home economist in West Point, MS to Hormel & Co.’s first director of consumer affairs in Austin, MN to director, Office of the Consumer Advisor, USDA, Washington, DC where she was instrumental in the development of the Food Guide Pyramid. Her highest professional achievement was serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for USDA in Washington during the first President Bush administration. Ann closed her career as the Executive Director of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2001.
Alongside her professional journey Ann raised her two girls and embraced Tom’s children as her own. She enjoyed involvement in her church during her years of retirement, serving on the vestry, chairing various events and singing in the choir. From her youth Ann loved to read, and later she was a talented seamstress and gardener. She adorned her home both inside and out with the fruits of her labors. There wasn’t anything she could not sew, and the Chadwick yard was an eye-popping showcase. Her flowers and gorgeous gardens reflected her love for all things beautiful, and her neighbors were certainly blessed.
Widowed in her later years, Ann left Alexandria to be near her daughter Janet and son-in-law Don (her absolute favorite person in the whole world, and she made sure everyone knew it). She became part of the Givens Estates community in Asheville, NC.
Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Joyce Collins Cook (Rodney) and Janet Collins Patterson (Don), brother Russell Kingsley (Sylvia) and sister Nancy Decker (Jerome), grandchildren Mark Patterson (Cynthia), Kelly Agudelo (Brian), Josh Cook (Allison), Brad Cook and Kate Goodman. She will also be missed by 12 great-grandchildren: Savannah, Hannah, Bailey, Graham, Noelle, Levi, Knox, Silas, Luciana, Vincent, Dominic and Julietta. Ann also leaves behind her step-children Alice Goodman (John), Thomas Chadwick, Jr. (Diana) and Carlton Chadwick (Reyshell), along with several nieces and nephews who loved her. Ann is predeceased by her late husband Tom, her parents Wendell and Emma Kingsley, and her grandson Ryan Cook.
There are no adequate words to express our family’s gratitude to the many folks at Wood Assisted Living (WAL) at Givens Estates, where Ann spent her last 4 years and 7 months. Their stellar staff who work hard and love well sustained Ann through her tragic decline into dementia, a disease which was simply devastating for such a smart and accomplished lady. WAL’s compassion and care for Mom and our family even through her final days could never be exceeded. Our family will forever be grateful to this extraordinary team of angels.
The family will receive visitors at Groce Funeral Home @ Lake Julian, Arden, NC on Saturday, January 27 from 1:30 to 4:30. Ann’s funeral will be held at Welch Funeral Home, Starkville, Mississippi on Saturday, February 3, 2024. Visitation will begin at 1:00 with the service following, after which she will be laid to rest in Memorial Garden Park beside her parents. Ann loved flowers and they are welcome. You may also honor her with donations to the Alzheimer’s Association.
But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:9
