Mrs. Anne Upshur Taylor Evans Foard died peacefully on Sept. 26, 2024, after a long and well-lived life. Anne was born to William Cooper Taylor and Lucretia Anne Upshur Taylor on Jan. 16, 1932, in Plainfield, N.J. Her family lived in Plainfield, close to Anne’s paternal grandparents, until WWII when her father, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, rejoined the Navy immediately after hearing about Pearl Harbor.
As a child, Anne met both Eleanor Roosevelt and Helen Keller. Following the war, Anne’s family moved to Charleston, S.C., where Anne attended Ashley Hall. Later, her family moved to Alexandria, where she graduated from St. Agnes School. During her childhood, Anne often visited Upshur family relatives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and spent many happy days at Mother Carrie’s cottage on the Chesapeake Bay.
Anne graduated from Smith College with a degree in Latin American Studies in 1953. She took her junior year abroad in Mexico, where she became fluent in Spanish. Following graduation, Anne taught elementary school and lived with her parents in Portsmouth at St. Julien’s Creek Annex, where her father was the commanding officer. While there, she met dashing Navy Lt. David Wilkinson Evans on a blind date, and he proposed only a few weeks later.
Anne and Dave had four children, David W. Evans Jr., William Taylor Evans, Candace Anne Upshur Evans, and Douglas Randall Evans, and lived all over the United States and in Lima, Peru and Rota, Spain, during the course of Dave’s Navy career.
After Dave retired from the Navy in 1971, the family lived on the Eastern Shore until the children graduated from high school. Anne and Dave moved to Charlotte, N.C., to help care for Dave’s mother, Virginia Tyler Evans. After Ginny’s death, Anne and Dave decided to return to Virginia and moved to Williamsburg, where they spent many happy years making close friends, hosting parties, creating beautiful gardens, volunteering, and playing tennis.
In 1991, they bought a condominium in Granby, Colo., to be closer to children and grandchildren in Colorado and California and to escape the sweltering Williamsburg summers. They shared their time in Colorado with family and a group of close friends, entertained often, volunteered at Rocky Mountain National Park, and fell in love with and traveled all over the American West. Anne remembered times spent in Colorado as some of the happiest of her life.
In 2006, Anne and Dave moved to Westminster Canterbury in Richmond and, true to form, set about making friends, entertaining, and volunteering at Westminster Canterbury and at Second Presbyterian Church.
After Dave’s death in 2008, Anne caught the eye of Morehead Foard, a fellow member at Second Presbyterian who had recently lost his wife, Maryann. Anne and Morehead married and found comfort and joy with one another until Morehead died at 101 in 2022. Anne was deeply fond of Morehead’s sons, Dick, George, and Tom, and their wives, children, and grandchildren.
Anne was a dedicated teacher who taught grades from elementary to middle and high school and at the community college level. She was gifted at languages and taught both Spanish and French and delighted in conversing in both languages throughout her life whenever the opportunity arose. Anne was also a dedicated learner, read voraciously, and enjoyed spirited discussions about a wide variety of subjects. Anne could coax any shrub, flower, or tree to grow into a thing of beauty, and she created beautiful gardens wherever she lived. Anne’s deep faith inspired her to give generously of her time and talents throughout her life. She brought life and laughter wherever she went.
Anne was preceded in death by her husbands, Dave and Morehead, and by her oldest son, David.
She is survived by her children Terry (Barb), Candace, and Doug (Sheryll); and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom will cherish her memory.
A service in celebration of Anne’s life will be held at Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond on Oct. 25 at 3 p.m.