Anne F Louttit

On Thursday, April 30, 2020, Anne Louttit passed away peacefully after a brief illness, at the age of 88 years old, in Arden Woods, North Carolina. Known for her sparkling good cheer, inner strength, and courageous outlook, she enjoyed a very long and fulfilling life surrounded by many people who loved her.

Born Anne Harper Fincke on August 28, 1931, at New York Hospital in Manhattan, to Louise Harper Boone, a direct descendant of Daniel Boone and the Harper Brothers publishing family, and Walter Fincke, who worked in the banking industry. Anne was the oldest of three daughters, all raised in Manhasset, New York. While studying nursing at Simmons College, she met her first husband, Charles T. Hapgood, then a student at Dartmouth University, who became an architect. They soon married, and settled down in Shoreham, New York, where they raised a family of three children during the 1950s and ‘60s. The marriage ended in divorce, at which time Anne went back to school to study early education. She would go on to teach elementary school for fifteen years. In 1986 she married Robert I. Louttit, a high energy physicist employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory, who had three children of his own. Anne and Bob retired early to set out on the adventure of a lifetime, living aboard their 37-foot sailboat, cruising in the Caribbean, to Venezuela, throughout the South Pacific, to New Zealand, and eventually stopping in Australia. Anne was initially anxious about crossing the Pacific Ocean, but happily one of her favorite stories was about her night watch at the helm, sailing under a brilliant canopy of stars, with dolphins swimming along both sides of the boat. After five years at sea, the couple were ready to return to dry land, and they settled in the seaside community of Beaufort, South Carolina, where Anne became an avid quilter. She and Bob eventually moved to Ardenwoods Retirement Community in North Carolina, where they lived for the past four years.

Anne’s love for her family, her quick smile, her positive attitude, and her empathy toward others will be terribly missed by those who survive her: her husband, Robert I. Louttit; children, Parker Hapgood, Susan Hapgood, and Amanda Demersky; stepchildren, Eric Louttit, Laura Louttit, and Kimberly Louttit; grandchildren, Samuel Schwarz, Russell Hapgood, Harrison Hapgood, Jack Demersky, and Anna Demersky; and great-grandchild, Rohnan Hapgood.

A memorial service to celebrate Anne’s life will be announced after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.