Ann Guild Elwood

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Ann Guild Elwood, 93, died at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023 at Heritage Health Senior Care, Bloomington, Ill., following a short illness. A visitation and memorial service at the Henderson-Biedekapp Funeral Chapel, Hancock, will be announced at a later date.

Ann Mansfield Guild was born Jan. 26, 1929 in Walton to Ray Mansfield Guild and Mary Florence North. She married George Haddow Elwood on Dec. 18, 1954 at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. Ann’s sister, Harriet Guild Osinski, was matron of honor and Bernard Kaplan was best man. She is predeceased by her parents and George, husband of 67 years.

Survivors include children Charles (Carolyn) Elwood, Peekskill, Thomas (Carol) Elwood, Key West, Fla. and Barbara (Thomas) Schlatter, Chatsworth, Ill. She will be forever remembered and loved by her grandchildren Teri (Ryan) Stoner, Dan Schlatter, Kelly (Thomas) Botsford, Blake Elwood, and Kylie Elwood, and step-grandchildren Craig Schlatter (Monica Thomas), Abby Schlatter (Matt Fulton), and Karen Schlatter (Joel Correia), great-step-grandson Leo Correia-Schlatter and great-grandson Jack Stoner. She will be missed by her dear siblings Harriet Osinski and Michael Guild, sister-in-law Carol Miller, many nieces and nephews, and extended family.

Ann graduated from Walton High School in 1946 and Bellevue Nursing School in New York City in 1949. She worked as a registered nurse at Bellevue Hospital for two years before returning to Walton where she was the operating room supervisor from 1951 to 1957 at Delaware Valley Hospital.

She met her future husband, George, in January 1954. The chief surgeon at the hospital was having a party and asked if a blind date could be set up for Ann. George agreed to go and learned on that first date that they had a lot in common having both studied in New York City and having mutual acquaintances from Rutgers where George earned his bachelor’s degree. They were married later that same year.

Ann set aside her nursing career when they began raising their three children. She taught Sunday School and helped organize funeral dinners at Emory United Methodist Church in Hancock. Ann was the official scorekeeper for the Hancock Central School baseball team under the late Coach John Zawatsky. She belonged to Book Circle, Eastern Star, and Bridge Club. She organized numerous blood drives over the years.

Ann and George were avid sports fans, especially the New York Yankees, Rutgers University, and the New York Giants. They visited many major and minor league baseball stadiums over the years. They loved tailgating with Ann’s sister Harriet and family at Rutgers Football games. They enjoyed big band jazz and traveled to many festivals around the country and hosted several themselves.

Ann made their home a place where family and friends gathered for reunions and parties. She was the consummate hostess. She adored her children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends. Her granddaughter Kylie said that her grandma had a way of making you feel like you were the most special person in the world.

In 2016, Ann and George moved to Acacia Village in Utica where they made many new friends. After George passed in April 2022, Ann moved to the Village at Mercy Creek, Normal, Ill., where she could be closer to her daughter Barb. She enjoyed her new friendships and time at Mercy Creek. She looked forward to visits to the farm where her son-in-law Tom would fix her a cocktail to enjoy on the front porch. Ann’s great sense of humor often caught people off guard with her hilarious one liners. It is a comfort that she is now reunited with her beloved George.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Hancock Community Education Foundation, P.O. Box 819, Hancock, NY 13783 or OSF Hospice at OSF HealthCare Foundation, 530 NE Glen Oak Ave, Peoria, IL 61637.

Arrangements by Henderson-Biedekapp Funeral Chapel, Hancock.