Ann Marie Avery

Ann Marie Avery, age 90, of Battle Creek, MI, passed away peacefully on Saturday morning, October 1, 2022. She was born in Winterport, Maine, on March 29, 1932 to Harold K. and Rebecca (Hathaway) Perkins. Ann attended Beal Business College in Bangor, Maine, & worked a variety of jobs throughout her career. After college, she and her cousin left the small-town life to work at the Pentagon in the early 1950's, which is where she met & married our dad, William L. Wright. She moved to Oklahoma, where she helped our dad run the Skiatook News. When they divorced, she took on different jobs at one time to help raise us kids. She was a secretary for American Airlines, a Go-Go dancer in a cage and in 2005 to 2010 she pushed wheelchairs at the Tulsa Airport. She met her second husband, Charles F. Avery, in Tulsa & they married in 1966. After a brief stop in Illinois for the Storm of 1967, we ultimately landed in Michigan in 1969/1970.

Once in Battle Creek, her shining light came out for everyone she met and knew. She had long lasting friendships with many of the people she worked with, were members of the same clubs, came to the party store they owned in Lakeview or who attended some of her amazing yard sales. She worked for the Drug & Alcohol Reentry House, the Kellogg Co., was a CAA Foster Grandparent & her favorite was being the owner/operator of her own women's consignment shop called "Over the Hill & Back."

Ann was a member of the First Congregational Church in Battle Creek & Sandy Point, Maine. Ann was involved in many of Battle Creek's community organizations. She worked hard for the rights & education for handicapped children in Calhoun County & she was very active with the Shrine Hospitals for Children, the Cerebral Palsy Assoc., the Battle Creek Civic Theatre, and the Leila and St. Philip "Follies." In 1983, Ann was the chairperson of the Leila Follies. Ann loved to dance, and watching her and Chuck was like watching "Poetry in Motion."

From 1984 to 1997, Ann, Chuck & "Chuck-Chuck," packed a U-Haul and headed back to Maine so she could be with her dad in his final years. In Maine, she again fought for rights & services for the handicapped. Honestly, she usually got what she wanted with that smile on her face. She went to work for Eastern Fine Paper in Bucksport, Maine, in about 1987 & retired from there in 1997. In 1997, she and Chuck returned to Battle Creek, sadly without Chuck-Chuck, as he had passed away while in Maine.

Ann was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; her son, Charles "Chuck-Chuck" F. Avery Jr.; and two brothers, Roger and Peter Perkins. Ann is survived by her son, Keenan (Lisa) Wright of Arizona; her daughter, Kimna (Lewis) Banks of Battle Creek, MI; a foster daughter, Laurie Hickman of Florida; her grandchildren, Christopher (Marie) Laird, Jeremy (Jennifer) Laird, Jessica (Chris) Simms & Kaetlin (Jack) Stevens; six great-grandchildren; her brother, Stephen Perkins; sister-in-law, Bonnie Perkins; numerous nieces & nephews; and a slew of friends from Maine, Oklahoma, Illinois & Michigan. Next week will take her back to Maine to rest alongside Chuck, Chuck-Chuck and many family members & friends.

The family will receive friends 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Sunday, October 9th at Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation Care, Battle Creek. A memorial service to celebrate Ann's life will be held 2:00 p.m., Saturday, October 15th at the Sandy Point Congregational Church, 698 US-1, Stockton Springs, ME 04981. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Schaffer Senior Residence and Senior Care Partners P.A.C.E. in Battle Creek; the Shrine Hospitals for Children – Chicago or the Alzheimer's Association.

The family has created a beautiful photo slideshow and it may be viewed at https://vimeo.com/757949926/a55b604c9a.