Anne Albright

January 22, 1925 - February 16, 2018

Anne Albright was an independent spirit who had the resolve, the courage, and the energy to do what needed to be done. At the age of 75, she joined Christian Peacemaker Teams for a 15-day visit with churches in Iraq, a witness for peace two months before our country began bombing Iraq. She earned a master’s degree while teaching full-time and raising her seven children. She served on the Church of the Brethren’s General Board. She was a lifelong artist and writer; she was a pastor’s wife; she was a chaplain at the Cedars in McPherson, Kansas. An accomplished writer and artist, her published works include poetry, short stories, a play, and hymn lyrics. In her thirties, she began painting fine china, and one of her award-winning pieces is on permanent display in the museum of the World Organization of China Painters headquarters. Anna Mae Metzler was the firstborn of Alma (Stump) and Burton Metzler, on January 22, 1925, in Louisville, Kentucky, where Burton was a PhD seminary student. Her siblings, Mary and David, were born in Chicago, where Burton taught Bible at Bethany Seminary. During these years the family lived in Oak Park, Illinois, and also on farms in northern Indiana for four years while Burton farmed and served churches; Anne fondly remembered the one-room school in Middlebury, Indiana, and Longfellow School in Oak Park. In 1937 Burton joined the faculty at McPherson College, and the family moved west to Kansas. In 1945, Anne graduated from McPherson College and then taught high school English in Conway Springs, Kansas, before her marriage to W. David Albright in 1946. Anne and Dave lived in Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, California, Idaho, Indiana, and Kansas where they served many congregations. In Nampa, Idaho, Anne was a reporter for the Idaho Free Press and then a high school English teacher; in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Anne taught English and was a school guidance counselor for many years. Anne loved her family, the lush green of northern Indiana, the open plains and skies of Kansas, road trips and camping, pink roses and morning glories, and genealogy. She was a fine seamstress and an excellent baker of Scandinavian Christmas breads (and the best dinner rolls ever!). On February 16, 2018, at the age of 93, Anne Albright died in hospice care at the Cedars, finally at rest and ready to join her dearest ones who preceded her: her husband of 70 years and their three children Catherine Stover (Philip), Mark Albright, and Matthew Albright. Her survivors include her sister, Mary Wagoner (Paul) and her sister-in-law, Doris Metzler Ulrich (Dale), her children Mary Nell Hoover (Marlin), James Yaussy Albright (Kim), John Albright (Meg), and Peter Albright (Sheri), 26 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service is planned for 11:00 a.m. on July 14, 2018, at the Church of the Brethren in McPherson, Kansas. The family suggests memorials to the Southern Poverty Law Center or to McPherson College.