Ann Maria (Haddican) Crabill, passed away at the age of 82 on Monday, June 10, 2024, in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Born February 5, 1942, in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, she was the daughter of the late John Joseph “Jack” Haddican of Galway, Ireland and Anastasia “Ann” Hayes of Wexford, Ireland.

Ann came into the world in the middle of World Ward II after a German bomb hit the street her family lived on, causing her to be born a month prematurely. She was told later that she only survived because her heart was so strong, a fitting metaphor for the way she lived her life.

Ann grew up close to her younger brother John and her cousin Liz, exploring the city she loved as it rebuilt itself after the war. She embarked on a new adventure in 1964 when she decided to take a one-year position as an au pair on Long Island, New York. There she met her future husband of fifty-eight years, William John (“Bill”) Crabill, after being introduced to him by his sister Carolyn at the local bowling alley. They were married on June 3, 1966, in Oyster Bay, New York and later settled in Port Jefferson Station, Long Island. They raised their three daughters there until moving to Harrisonburg in 1996.

Ann was a devoted member of the Catholic Church and her calling was one of service. Ann volunteered her time at Blessed Sacrament in Harrisonburg, as a religious education teacher, eucharistic minister, and a soup kitchen and food pantry volunteer. She visited the elderly at the local nursing homes in Harrisonburg, participated in and loved her Bible study and prayer group. She made wonderful friendships throughout her life. She was also a huge animal lover, raising many dogs and cats over the course of her life and befriending the many birds, squirrels and other creatures she encountered in her beloved garden. Family was everything to her and she doted on her five grandchildren.

Surviving, in addition to her husband, Bill, are three daughters, Colette Chipman and husband Jason, of Arlington; Heather Hayes and partner Christopher Geil, of Harrisonburg; Courtney Rossi and husband Peter, of Herndon; five grandchildren, Sebastian, Emma, Hayden, Jack and Declan; brother, John Haddican and sister-in-law, Jancis, of Bromsgrove, England and many beloved extended family members and friends.

A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 10 a.m., on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Harrisonburg with Father Silvio Kaberia officiating. Interment will follow at Eastlawn Memorial Gardens.

 

The family will receive friends from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, at Kyger Funeral Home in Harrisonburg.

Memorial contributions may be made to Ann’s two favorite charities: St. Jude Children’s Hospital and St. Labre Indian School.