Anne Marie Cullity

Anne Marie Cullity, 85, passed away on September 25, 2021 in Brentwood, NH while dancing to Grace Jones with her daughters. A longtime Rye Beach resident, Anne was most at home on the New Hampshire seacoast, where she raised her four daughters and spent many sandy summers on Jenness Beach with her grandchildren. Anne was enchanting to those who met her, independent and unwavering to those who knew her, and unforgettable to everyone who loved her.

Anne was born in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 17, 1936 to George and Anne Fecteau. A classic beauty with a quick wit to match, Anne attended Manchester West High School and went on to study English Literature at the University of New Hampshire, where she was crowned Queen of the Military Arts Ball 1955 and trained for the 1960 Olympics in fencing.

Anne was a prolific traveler, dancing the forró in Brasilia, the mambo in Havana and the Cha Cha in Cap Haïtien. She spent many months living in Beijing and Hong Kong in the 1970s, immersing herself in the culture.

Anne hosted many political fundraisers at her home in Rye Beach and was actively engaged in local and national politics. She ran the census for New Hampshire’s 1st district and was appointed as an Administrative Court Judge by the Governor of New Hampshire. She was a fervent supporter of local arts and culture, serving on the NH Film Bureau and assisting in the production of several films, including The Gathering (1977), On Golden Pond (1981) and Flags Over Portsmouth (1981), a historic retelling of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.

Anne could read a book in a day, finish a New York Times Sunday crossword in an hour (in pen) and light up a party in minutes. Her accomplishments were many and varied: she built her own home and organic herb farm, protested the Vietnam War, advocated for preservation of the Isles of Shoals and tutored schoolchildren in Haiti. Above all, she always spoke her mind and was true to her beliefs.

Anne is survived by two sisters, Marion Byrne of Naples, Florida and Jeannie Fecteau Sessler of Biddeford, Maine, her four daughters, Lizbeth Cullity of Central African Republic, Africa and her husband Anasthase Vieux of Haiti, Lauren Cullity-Sanford, and her husband William D Sanford of Biddeford, Maine, Kristin Cullity Stewart, and her husband David Stewart of South Salem, New York and Karin Cullity Nelson, and her husband Doug Nelson of Rye Beach NH and her nine grandchildren. She is predeceased by her parents, three siblings, Geraldine A. Mitchell, Richard Martin Fecteau and George Henry Fecteau, and two late husbands, John F. Cullity and Howard Z. Hirshberg.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Anne M. Cullity to Families First, Portsmouth, New Hampshire @ https://www.familiesfirstseacoast.org/