Katherine Ann Sweeney
January 22, 1931 – January 22, 2025
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Ann Sweeney on January 22, 2025. She left us peacefully on her 94th birthday, surrounded by loved ones at home.
Ann had many roles throughout her life. She was a music teacher at schools in Michigan, Connecticut, and the David G. Osterer Cerebral Palsy Center in Rye Brook, New York. Ann was also the youth choir director at Saint Mary Parish in Greenwich, Connecticut, as well as a private piano teacher to over 60 students in the area. Though, the title Ann was most proud of was “mom” – even being named one of eight “Outstanding Mothers of the Year” by the National Mother’s Day Committee in 1984.
Ann was the matriarch of the Sweeney clan, raising 18 children in Greenwich with her husband John Scripps Sweeney III, and later doting on her more than 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Asked what prompted her to rear seven children and adopt 11 more, Ann said, “When I went to adopt for the first time, I was looking for a baby that needed me as much as I needed him…[and] when you have that many children, you don’t do anything else anyway.” The family’s tale was chronicled in the book Patchwork Clan: How the Sweeney Family Grew, which Ann co-authored.
Long before she started her own family in Greenwich, Ann was born on January 22, 1931, as an only child to Harry and Mary Taylor in Mount Clemens, Michigan. That is where she received her early education, graduating from Mount Clemens High School in 1948. She went on to study the cello and piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, and pursued advanced music studies in Paris, France.
Perhaps that is where her love for travel was born. Remarkably, Ann visited more than 30 countries across five continents in her lifetime, often volunteering her time to teach music lessons to students abroad. While sightseeing was always on the itinerary, sunbathing and shopping were also Ann’s specialties. Eventually, her home was filled with eclectic souvenirs and unique furnishings from her world travels – the physical reminders of Ann’s adventures.
When she was home, Ann was never idle. She swam as many laps in the pool, planted as many flowers in her garden, read as many books, solved as many crossword puzzles, ate as much chocolate and spent as many days with family and her cats as she could until the very end. Over the last 10 years, Ann lived with dementia. While the disease may have dampened her mind, it did not diminish her wit, determination or spirit.
A public service to celebrate Ann’s life will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Saint Mary Parish at 178 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. A reception will follow from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the church’s community room. All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a charity that is meaningful to your relationship and memories of Ann.