Anne Leonard Weil of Red Bank passed away March 16, 2023, in Oakland, California, at the end of a beautiful family visit. After a week of spending quality time with her three living children, three of her nine grandchildren, and her four great-grandchildren, Anne had a stroke while reading in bed and died painlessly the following night. She was 89.
Anne was a dear friend, a beloved member of her community and the matriarch of her large family, and will be deeply missed by all.
Anne was born to Robert and Edith Leonard in New York in 1933. Her family later lived in Connecticut and Vermont. She attended Sacred Heart School and received a Bachelor of Arts from Museum School in Boston.
In 1955 Anne married her first husband, Richard Riker of Rumson. Anne and Richard lived in Manhattan and summered in Rumson while raising their four children. In 1977 she moved full-time to The Anchorage in Rumson where she lived for 35 years. In 1981 she married James M. (Michael) Weil, and they were happily married until his death in 2019.
Anne was an artist, gardener, tennis player, volunteer, devout Catholic and lover of beautiful things, with an enormous capacity for friendship and a deep love and loyalty to family. Most importantly, she was the center of an ever-growing, happy family and circle of friends who frequently gathered at The Anchorage, where Anne would feed and care for each person, rarely accepting any help. She was generous and open, always willing to set out another plate for the friends and partners of her family and made people feel at home.
In 2019 Anne and Michael moved into The Atrium, where Anne has maintained and made many friends.
Anne was predeceased by her beloved husband Michael; her son Willie; her brothers, Francis and Bobby; and her sister Phyllis. She is survived by her sister Lyn; her brother Peter; her daughter Anne (Michael); her sons, Richard (Catherine) and Jackson (Kirsten); her step-children, Rebecca, Jimmy, Amy and Margo; her grandchildren, Nick (Sherri), Felicity, Laura, Julien, Victoria, Andrew, Merlyn, Dylan, Vivien, Samantha, Sophie, Jess and Ronan; and four great-grandchildren; as well as an extensive family of nieces, nephews and cousins.
A Catholic Memorial Mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 28, at St. James Church, 94 Broad St., Red Bank. Livestream will be available at sjredbank.org.
Another celebration of Anne’s life will take place at the Sea Bright Beach Club June 13, 2023.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Meals on Wheels or the Rumson Garden Club.
The article originally appeared in the March 23 – 29, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
