Anne W. Van Lonkhuyzen

Anne Williams Van Lonkhuyzen, formerly of Cape Elizabeth, Maine passed away peacefully in Bluffton, South Carolina at the home of her daughter Christina Gwozdz, M.D. on July 11, 2024. She was 97.

Anne was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on May 10, 1927, the daughter of Elise Brecker Williams and Harold V. Williams, M.D.  Her brother, Harold B. Williams, M.D., predeceased her.  Anne grew up in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude from the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York in 1944.  She earned a B.A. in German language from the University of Michigan in 1948.  Anne came to love Maine from spending weekends and summers throughout her childhood at her family cottage (the childhood home of author Kate Douglas Wiggin) on the then-undammed Saco River in Salmon Falls, Hollis, Maine.  She married Maurice Van Lonkhuyzen, M.D. in 1949 at the Tory Hill Church in Buxton, where she was a lifelong active member of the Dorcas society.

Anne raised her four children in Cape Elizabeth, where she lived for sixty years.  She was active in the garden club, a devoted lap swimmer at the high school pool, and in her later years walked daily in Fort Williams. Anne attended First Congregational Church of South Portland, where she enjoyed singing in the choir.

After her marriage ended, she attended the University of Maine School of Law as one of only five women in the Class of 1973 – while simultaneously raising four school-age children as a single parent.  After graduation, Anne practiced law in Cumberland and York Counties, focusing her practice on court-appointed criminal defense, family law and guardian ad litem matters, until she retired.  She was unable to attend the Class of 1973’s 50th reunion in 2023 as the oldest surviving class member, but her children sent a message on her behalf.

Anne was an active traveler, including Maine Audubon trips to the Galapagos, China and New Zealand, and even canoed the Allagash River.

Anne is survived by her four children – John, of Cumberland Foreside, Maine, Christina, of Bluffton, South Carolina, Harold, of Rockport, Maine, and William, of Asheville, North Carolina, her ten grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, and her beloved cat Moxie.

A graveside service and burial will be held on Monday, July 22, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the Tory Hill Cemetery, 1187 River Road, Buxton, Maine. Following the service, family and friends are invited to a reception at the home of her son, John.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Salmon Falls Library, Hollis, Maine, Animal Welfare Society, Kennebunk, Maine or Tory Hill Meetinghouse, Buxton, Maine.

The family sincerely thanks the caregivers in Maine and South Carolina (Loving Arms Care and Crescent Hospice) for the care and compassion they provided.

Sauls Funeral Home (SC) and Hobbs Funeral Home (Maine) are serving the family.