Anne Hyde Degan, 71, of Weston

Anne Middleton Hyde Degan of Weston died peacefully on Wednesday, May 28 after a long and courageous battle against a debilitating lung disease. She was surrounded by her loving family.

Anne was born on Sept. 8, 1953 in Springfield. She was the daughter of the late Henry Cheves and Ellen Leigh Martin Hyde. During her childhood, the family lived in Chester, and along with her brother and sister, Anne attended Chester elementary and middle schools. She described those early years as idyllic and simple, with fond memories of community tennis tournaments, rope tow skiing on the Pinnacle, bike riding down Lovers Lane, and playing tirelessly with her friends and neighbors in their backyard next to Buttonwood Farm.

Anne left Chester to attend Abbot Academy in Andover, Mass. After graduating in 1971, she enrolled at the University of Vermont. While in college, she spent a year in Guatemala living in a Mayan village through a program sponsored by the Experiment in International Living. On her return, she took great pride in raising funds to provide running water to the region.

Journalism was Anne’s true calling, however. When her family relocated to Landgrove in the mid-’70s, she founded and managed the Londonderry Aire, a weekly newspaper reporting on regional issues and profiling local residents and their unique perspectives. The paper covered the mountain towns of Londonderry, Landgrove, Andover, Winhall, Weston, Peru, Jamaica and Windham. Anne later became an investigative journalist for the Rutland Herald and eventually moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked at States News Service covering Capitol Hill and national politics.

While in Washington, she met her husband, Daniel John Degan, on a tennis court. Seeking a simpler life in the country, they eventually bought an old farmhouse on Hancock Point in Maine where they were married in 1986. Their son Mat was born in 1988. Anne continued her career as a science writer for the University of Maine and as a freelance journalist. Jobs and careers eventually took the family back to Vermont, where they settled in Norwich for many years. Anne’s writing career was varied and always successful. She was admired among her colleagues as a fierce and determined investigative reporter and, among other accolades, she was the recipient of the Jesse H. Neal Award for business journalism.

Anne and Dan eventually retired to Weston, enjoying tennis and all things outdoors, including hiking, pond hockey, camping, kayaking, sailing and skiing. Anne was civic minded and politically engaged. She served for many years on the Weston Planning and Conservation commissions. She was also a member of the Weston Women’s Club, and on the board of the Landgrove Meeting House. She was a member of the Landgrove Tennis Club, Ekwanok Country Club and the DACOR-Bacon House in Washington, D.C. In recent years, Anne and Dan purchased an apartment in Washington, returning frequently to the city where they first met.

Anne’s immediate and extended family always came first. Her defining trait was that of a giver, totally devoted to her family and selfless to a fault. Known as Gigi to her two grandchildren, favorite games, puzzles, stuffed animals and musical instruments were always waiting in their special places for Henry and Harriet. She was the spark and driving force behind countless gatherings and celebrations for generations of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Spirited whiffle ball games, badminton matches, and ping pong tournaments were common occurrences in her backyard, always accompanied by good food and drink, and even the occasional jam session late into the night.

Energetic and spirited, with a timeless sense of style, she and her beloved Dan were usually the last ones dancing –most memorably in St Mark’s Square in Venice. When Anne wasn’t hosting her own event, she was often organizing other ones for her extended family, endlessly planning day hikes, kayak excursions, pick-up hockey games, moon light cross-country tours and evening concerts.

Anne is survived by her husband, Dan, and son, Mat Degan (Kate) of Landgrove, a sister, Leigh Hyde Adams, also of Landgrove, a brother, Henry Cheves Hyde Jr. (Connie) of Falls Church, Va., two grandchildren, Henry and Harriet Degan, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to the caregivers at the Jack Byrne Center for their warm and sensitive care. A private memorial service will be held. Memorial gifts may be made to the Jack Byrne Center by contacting Marie Stansfield at 603-646-5919 or marie.e.stansfield@hitchcock.org or by clicking here; to Neighborhood Connections, P.O. Box 207, Londonderry, VT 05148 or by clicking here; or to the Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad Inc., P.O. Box 911, Londonderry, VT 05148, or by clicking here.