Shank, Ann Avery
Ann Barrows Avery Shank of Floyd, Virginia passed away peacefully on October 12, 2024, at the age of 83. Born Christmas Eve, 1940 in Montpelier, VT, she was the eldest of four sisters born to Rev. Reginald D. Avery and Miriam (Meeker) Avery.
Growing up, her family moved several times through New England, upstate New York, and Long Island in accordance with Reginald’s church assignments.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Non-Western Civilizations from the University of Rochester, NY, she wed Ralph Bowden of Wading River, NY and embarked on a teaching career. She earned a Master’s degree in History from Columbia University Teachers College in 1963, and taught high school social studies and college-level history, first in Roslyn, NY and then Greensboro, NC, where the couple moved to enable Ralph’s doctoral studies at UNC Chapel Hill.
Ann became a devoted full-time mother in 1970, and the couple soon moved to Cookeville, TN to raise their two children in a rural setting. She was an enthusiastic gardener and embraced the “back to the land” ethos of the times, raising chickens, stocking a pond with catfish, and filling the pantry and freezer with home-grown produce. The family was a reliable presence at First Presbyterian Church of Cookeville, where Ann sang in the choir, served as an Elder, and led Sunday School classes. Ann and Ralph divorced in 1981.
After meeting at a church retreat, Ann was wooed by Ernest Shank, a widower and retired teacher from Sarasota, FL. The two wed in Cookeville in 1983, and the following year the family moved to Sarasota. Ann took a job with Sarasota County, first in the school district and later as the County’s Historic Librarian, a role she held for 16 years. She and Ernie were active in the First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, and she supported him in establishing the Sarasota/Manatee chapter of Habitat for Humanity. After Ernie’s passing in 1989, Ann remained committed to Habitat and other charitable organizations, helping to raise money and build houses for the underprivileged in Sarasota; traveling to Kenya with a mission group to help construct a church building for a rural congregation there; and rebuilding housing in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Ann retired from Sarasota County in 2007, and returned to the beautiful southern Appalachian Mountains that she loved, joining her youngest sister in Floyd in 2007. She once again found a spiritual home and community in the local Presbyterian Church of Floyd. True to her calling, she soon took on key roles in the Floyd County Historical Society and volunteered with organizations including SustainFloyd and the Plenty! food pantry. She embraced her creative side, nurturing a love of photography that began as a child with her Brownie camera, and beginning new ventures in basket-weaving and print-making, thanks to the robust arts community in Floyd.
Throughout her life, Ann remained devoted to the principles instilled in her by her parents—faith, frugality, and generosity. She rarely turned down an opportunity to contribute what she could to anyone in need. In each new community she moved to, she created lasting friendships and maintained relationships with an increasingly far-flung extended family, including her in-laws from Ralph’s family and Ernie’s three daughters and their families. Ann’s kindness, loyalty, and whole-hearted embrace of the never-ending project of improving the world will be remembered by all who knew her.
Ann is preceded in death by her sister Roslyn (Avery) Fishbaugh of Colden, NY, husband Ernie Shank, stepdaughter Cathy (Shank) White, and many friends and relatives who will no doubt welcome her joyfully to what waits beyond this earthly life. She is survived by her sisters Beth Avery of Orleans, MA and Jayn Avery of Floyd; children Eric Bowden of Sarasota and Jennifer Bowden of Bellingham, WA; stepdaughters Meribeth Shank of Goshen, IN and Wendy Shank of Washington, DC; grandchildren Zoe, Quinn, Justin, Nadia, Andy, and Emily; five nieces; and a growing group of great-grandchildren, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
May her memory remain a source of peace and inspiration to all who were touched by Ann’s spirit.
