Ann C. (Ritchie) Pianka, born in Brooklyn April 3, 1938 to Jacqueline and James Ritchie, was raised and lived in Lincoln most of her life. A graduate of Concord High school in 1956, she went off to Newton-Wellesley School of Nursing following her dream of becoming a nurse. She met her husband, Walter, while working the Emergency Ward at Boston City Hospital and they married in 1960. She took a break from nursing to begin her family, returning to work after having five children. When the last was in school she resumed her nursing career caring for society's most vulnerable, first at Metropolitan State Hospital and then at the Fernald School. She cared for these "kids" as she called them, with compassion and love until her retirement in 2002. Caring for those who had extraordinary physical and developmental handicaps in our society was just part of her life's work. Ann's life work reflected her life values. She was a deeply insightful and determined woman. She was a caring wife, sister, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and friend. She lived a life which inspired all of our own; full of family and love. She raised children who grew up to be caregivers and civil servants, instilled with the values she taught. She treated all children in the community as her own. She was Room Mother for numerous classrooms as her children progressed through the Hartwell, Smith and Brooks schools; as Cub Scout den mother and Girl Scout leader; and as a CCD/Sunday school teacher at St Joseph's parish, continuing for many years after her own children had moved on. She taught by example how to give back to the community in which she lived and to contribute to the caring and growth of children. She lost one of her own in 1980 with the death of her son Mark along with two of his friends. This loss was a staggering blow to Ann and the family, but she kept vigilant in pulling the family together to overcome the odds in the wake of such tragedy. She raised a family who comes together to endure hardships as well as successes. Her family needed only to watch to see what was possible for she was our teacher. Ann loved learning, reading and travelling; always on the quest for knowledge. She showed us how to persevere as she went back to school nights for many years until she completed her Bachelor's Degree at Northeastern University. She was skilled with her hands and her mind. She read and she quilted; she gardened and she baked. What she did with these skills became gifts to others. She gave books, she shared recipes, she baked and cooked for others and she made heirloom quilts for her loved one's to treasure forever. Each stitch placed by hand (no machine stitching for her!) with love and patience and care. She did these things with a precision and patience that has become rare today. She did these things lovingly and selflessly. This was her legacy, the "love of learning and of perseverance" which has been crucial in the shaping of the lives of many who knew her. She will be missed beyond words! Ann died at the Kaplan Family Hospice on September 21, 2017 and leaves behind her family: Husband: Walter, Children: Walter (and Linda), Marcy (and Dave), Jamie (and Renee) and Ann Marie, Grandchildren: Danielle, Christopher, Thomas and Lucas, Great grandchildren: Grayson and Cole, and her brother James (and Nancy) Ritchie, and many nieces and nephews. A funeral Mass was celebrated on September 23rd at St. Joseph's Church in Lincoln. Interment followed in the family burial plot in Lincoln Cemetery.