Mrs. Ann Spady Thomson, 89, passed away peacefully in the late evening on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, at the hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Ann was born on May 28, 1935, in Northampton County, to the late Thomas Sanford Spady and Elizabeth Jarvis (Nottingham) Spady.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Earl L. Thomson, and her younger sister, Frances “Fran” (Spady) Wilkins.
She is survived by her three children, Emily Lyte (Thomson) Foster and her husband, Timothy Foster, and their four children, Spencer, Connor, Jane, and Ethan; Carrington Venable Thomson and his wife, Sara Weniger, and their three sons, Carrington, Liam, and Lars; and Neil McDowell Thomson and his wife, Heidi Thomson, and their three children, Bethany, Caraline, and Samuel; and by her niece, Elizabeth (Wilkins) Kenten and her husband, John Kenten, and their children, Colleen and Ian.
Ann grew up on the Shore at the Spady family farm, “Cleveland,” near Capeville with her parents, two uncles, grandmother, and sister Fran. There she was surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, many cousins, and dear family friends. She delighted in telling stories from her youth and about her relatives and friends and would often say that she could not imagine having a better childhood.
A graduate of Cape Charles High School, she attended a year at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., before going into nurse’s training in Richmond. After becoming a registered nurse, she returned home to work at the hospital in Nassawadox.
By chance, she met Earl Thomson, who was on the Shore for business. They married on Earl’s birthday in the parlor of her family home before settling in Richmond, where Emily and Carrington were born. Earl’s work then took the family to Warrenton, where they lived for the next 18 years. Neil was born in nearby Manassas. After Earl retired, they moved back to the Shore, eventually settling in Richmond for their final 30 years together.
Some of Ann’s and Earl’s happiest years together were spent as “empty nesters” in their home in Richmond’s West End. They were separated only upon Earl’s death in January 2022. Coincidentally, Ann passed away on what would have been Fran’s 87th birthday — perhaps a reflection of how close they were in life.
Ann’s ashes have been divided with half to be interred with Earl at the Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Amelia and the other half with her parents at a subsequent (to-be-scheduled) memorial at Holmes Presbyterian Church in Cheriton.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Ann Spady Thomson to the Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation. All donations made in her name will be earmarked for the MilesFiles, an online genealogy resource for Eastern Shore families and the archiving of historical documents. The website for donations is https://www.esplfoundation.org, and the mailing address is: Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation, P.O. Box 626, Parksley, VA 23421.
