At Anne’s funeral service on February 21, 2020, her brother, Charles Kelly of London, England, delivered the following eulogy:

Anne Elizabeth Kelly was born on the 30th July 1951 at St Luke’s Hospital in Uyo then a small town in the east of Nigeria, now a large city. The beginning of a remarkable life. Anne was the second of what became a family of 6 children with 3 girls and 3 boys.

I know that during this memorial service, Jack would like us to remember particularly Anne’s enthusiasm for life, her keen sense of social justice and her somewhat quirky sense of humour. I will touch on those but I’ll also emphasize the courage she showed in dealing with a number of challenges that life threw her way. Not the least of these was her decision, after meeting and marrying Oscar Chilson, to leave the country in which she had grown up and which she knew so well to start a new life in a very different country. It’s a real tribute to this community that she flourished and felt so at home here. I have seen it before on my several visits to St Louis but particularly in the last 3 or 4 weeks I have realised quite how much she loved and was loved by the community here. On the other side of the Atlantic, we are very grateful for your warmth and openness to Anne.

So back to Anne’s early years; our family led a somewhat nomadic life with time spent either in Nigeria or Shetland (our mother’s home). Anne became used to quite extreme changes in climate, which turned out to be good preparation for life in St Louis.

Anne suffered a lot from infectious disease in her early life. Looking back, she clearly suffered from transient (although in her case not so transient) antibody immunodeficiency. All this meant that she missed quite a lot of school. But after each illness she just bounced back and got on with her life – as you who know her would expect.

For most of Anne’s time at secondary/high school, the family stayed in one place but in her final year, normal practice was resumed. Our father, with our mother went to work as a teacher in northern Somalia. We all went to boarding schools except Anne who was in her final school year with important public exams. So she stayed at the same school, living with very good family friends. Even so, this was probably not the best stage of her education to be left without more direct family support.

This, together with the fact that she had undiagnosed dyslexia, meant that it was a very significant achievement for her to complete high school and gain entry to College.

But before we come to her College life… she spent a year in Somalia with her parents. Perhaps the highlight of that year was her involvement in bringing up of two orphaned cheetah cubs. Anne used to feed them, she would sit in the cage and play her guitar for them. I don’t want to be critical but she wasn’t a great guitarist, however the cheetahs appeared to enjoy it. Cheetahs like to climb. Our father made a raised platform and walkway for the cubs to climb. But they had no idea how to use it. The solution was for Anne to go into the cage and demonstrate how to climb and eventually, the penny dropped.

The next year, Anne began College in London training to be a secondary/high school science teacher with biology as her main discipline. During her time at College, she became increasingly active politically. Anne went on several marches and demonstrations. I am not certain that her behaviour on these occasions always reached the level of decorum required by the police or the law. It would not be appropriate for me to discuss this. Jack, however, may feel less constrained so if you want further and better particulars you might ask him about it.

Anne graduated from College (about 1974) and began her teaching career first at a school in Andover, then moving to the St Joan of Arc School in Rickmansworth, a town just on the north west edge of London. She spent a few happy years there, as ever getting involved in many aspects of school life. It was also during this period that she was diagnosed with leukaemia. She was treated successfully over a period of about two years. Perhaps because of this experience, she began to question whether she could make more of a difference in other ways than teaching in a reasonably comfortable suburban school.

In about 1983 she took up a semi-residential post in a care home for young women, in the East End of London. My memory is that the residents were quite demanding and did not entirely adhere to house rules. It would be a gross exaggeration to say that they regarded the police as a taxi service but on more than one occasion, residents were returned to the home rather late in the evening with just such an escort. Anne, as ever remained remarkably unperturbed, upbeat and focussed on providing care.

At that time, I was working in a cancer research institute in London when the lab was joined by a chap on sabbatical from Wash U. His name was Oscar Chilson. We became very good friends and in the course of that year, Oscar met Anne. They became even better friends and in 1985 were married in Westgate-on-Sea in England. Anne moved, of course, to St Louis and as I said, this community made her feel very welcome. She was to spend exactly half her life here, by some way the longest that she had lived in the same place, and it became a real home for her.

In those early days, Anne of course got to know and love Oscar and Katherine’s children- Sha’an, Brian and Erin and then the grandchildren. She worked some of the time in the lab with Oscar and was co-author with him on 6 publications, between 1988 and 1992.

She was also active in other areas and in the late 1980s started as a volunteer with ACORN. Jeff Ordower who was a very good friend and ACORN director sent this appreciation (which I have lightly edited).

Anne was beloved by five radically different ACORN office directors, she was an indispensable part of the team. Anne understood better than almost anyone else how important it was to have an organization run by and for grassroots people. Around 2006 or so ACORN starting running free tax preparation sites so that people would not get ripped off by companies. Anne immediately sprang into action and began running the St. Louis tax site. She built alliances with the IRS and ran a program that processed taxes for hundreds of families, allowing them to keep lots of their hard-earned money in their own pockets. This is just one example of Anne hearing what needed to be done, rising to the occasion and making it happen.

As you will all remember, very sadly Oscar died (with acute leukaemia) on the 22nd November 2006. It goes without saying this was a terrible time for Anne and the outpouring of love and support from this community and her family over here is mostly what kept her going.

Jack had been a friend of Anne and Oscar for quite some time. I don’t know the exact timing but on our side of the Atlantic, we eventually became aware of and were delighted by a growing relationship. When Anne was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2009, Jack was there to provide comfort and encouragement. She responded with her usual courage making light of her hair loss and staying as active as possible. And in time she regained health.

On 18th May 2013, Anne and Jack married in the village of Chipping Sodbury in England where her mother lived with one of our sisters and her family. It was of course a lovely occasion and we even had sunshine.

To our delight we saw quite a lot of Anne and Jack over the following years – the frequency of their visits increased as our mother got older.

Towards the end of 2018, Anne was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer this time with metastases. Brave as ever she went through rounds of treatment again keeping as active as possible. We had a very memorable visit last December when Anne and Jack came to stay in London and over that time saw all the family – we perhaps half thought that this could be the last visit.

Anne’s death was shockingly sudden. But she died peacefully, in the presence of people whom she loved and who loved her and she died in a place that thanks to all of you was where she felt very much at home.

Program: Mass of Remembrance

Anne E. Chilson

February 21, 2020 ~ Visitation 4:00 p.m.

Eulogy and Memorial Mass 6:30 p.m.

Followed by Reception in Ballroom

St. Francis Xavier College Church

Presider: Fr. Dan White, S.J.

Concelebrants: Fr. Matthew Baugh, S.J. and Fr. Glenn Mueller, S.J.

Acolytes: Mary & Paul Nagel

Cantor: Theresa Romer, Accompanist: Bill Romer

Introduction: Anton Jacobs Eulogy: Charles Kelly

Introductory Rites

Processional: How Can I Keep From Singing Gather 685

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Daniel 12:3 Carol Joselyn

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25: To You, O Lord Gather 39

Second Reading: James 2:14-20 Dean Sullivan

Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia Gather 340

Gospel: Luke 7: 36-50 Fr. Dan White, S.J

Homily: Fr. Dan White, S.J.

Prayers of the Faithful: Christine Dragonette

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Presentation of Gifts: Amazing Grace Gather 645

Gift Bearers: Mona Caldwell and Jack Wiegers

Eucharistic Prayer Acclamations: Gather 198, 200, 202

Communion Rite

Breaking of the Bread: Lamb of God Gather 204

Communion Hymn: On Eagle’s Wings Gather 691

Final Commendation: May the Angels Lead You into Paradise Gather 980

Recessional Hymn: When the Saints Go Marching In (insert)

Ceremonial Music

The hymns used in the memorial Mass were carefully chosen to create a sense of celebration for Anne’s life and spirit.

The final hymn, When the Saints Come Marching In, had eight verses enthusiastically sung by the hundreds in attendance. A special verse, written by Bill Romer, Accompanist, acknowledged the significance of Anne’s brothers in attendance having come from Britain to be with the congregation at this important time.

Oh, brother Charles, you are my friend.

Oh, brother Charles, you are my friend.

Yea, you gonna be in that number

When the saints go marching in.

Comments on the Readings

The readings used in the memorial Mass were chosen to reflect Anne’s passonate commitment to teaching and guiding those in difficult situations. She fought for social just and to improve the lives of the poor and oppressed.

For example, the first reading from the Book of Daniel exemplifies the value that Scripture puts on teaching and learning:

Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the expanse of the heavens

and those who have instructed and guided many in uprightness

will shine as stars for all eternity. (Daniel, 12,3)

Comments on the Prayers of the Faithful

Most of the Prayers of the Faithful were written with Anne’s family and friends in mind. For example, two of the prayers were

For all of Anne’s family and friends who are feeling the pain of loss that they may still be able to celebrate and feel joy for Anne’s well-lived life, we pray…

For us, that the witness of Anne’s quirky humor, her faith that gave without counting the cost, her wise guidance, and her care for those who live challenged by life every day, might inspire us to do likewise, we pray…

In Conclusion

One of Anne’s favorite causes was the Outreach Program at St. Francis Xavier College Church. This group provides legal documentation like birth certificates, social security cards and personal identification forms for about 5,000 people a year. These are essential for enrolling children in school, finding jobs, and acquiring housing. They are not free and it can be difficult to know where you go to get them. The Outreach program provides the assistance needed in a respectful and caring environment. If you wish to contribute to this cause in Anne’s honor, feel free to send your donation to St. Francis Xavier Outreach Program, 3528 Lindell, St. Louis, MO 63108.

The service concluded with a reception in the ballroom of St. Francis Xavier Church. Desserts and drinks were served to hundreds and good fellowship abounded. At the reception was a slideshow of Anne’s life and selections of her favorite music was played. Anne would have loved it!!