Anne Nolan
Anne Teresa McGuinness Nolan — also referred to as Annie, Mommy/Mom, Auntie Anne, Mrs. Nolan, Anne Nolan and, thanks to her oldest grandson, who could not say Grandma, Emma. She was an entrepreneur, businesswoman, wife, mother, homemaker, grandmother, great-grandmother. Anne loved and lived her Roman Catholic faith and was a parishioner of Sacred Heart Parish. She passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 14 surrounded by her family. She was 83 years old.
Anne’s life journey began in Donegal, Ireland. She was the daughter of Edward (Eddie) and Mary (Mini) McGuinness, and she was one of their seven children. She prided herself on being a strong academic student and an athlete playing camogie (Irish field hockey). Her grit, determination, humor and gift of the gab were fostered growing up on her family farm — Glenboran. In 1956, she followed her older sister Mary to the United States. They both worked at Time Incorporated, and Anne also worked weekends at Bonwit Tellers as a wedding consultant and dress model. Joseph Nolan, whom she had been dating for years in Ireland, eventually followed the love of his life to New York and they married in 1962. In the early years they lived in Woodside, Queens and summered in Cutchogue. Anne loved her summers in Pequash so much that they decided to try a winter on the North Fork and rented a house in Southold. The following year they bought a house on Bay Avenue, now Skunk Lane in Cutchogue. And it was in that house that Anne Nolan began flexing her entrepreneurial muscles.
Anne baked an extraordinary apple pie! One evening after serving pie to a dinner guest it was decided — she would set up a stand in front of the house with hopes that the weekenders heading to Nassau Point would stop and purchase them. It took her all night to bake four pies and they sold out — immediately. She refined and ramped up her process and very quickly she had a hopping pie business, which caught the attention of Mrs. Wickham from Wickham’s fruit stand. When the family eventually moved to New Suffolk, the garage became a full-on bakery for Wickham’s. It took every child, relative and a few friends to get the job done for the big summer weekends when we would bake over 200 pies! Friends and relatives would come to assist peeling fruit because they loved sitting around with the Queen of Chatting.
Eventually, Anne and Joe purchased Risco’s Store on the Main Road in Cutchogue and “Nolan’s Village Market” was born. It was a specialty market, butcher shop and deli. Anne ran the day-to-day operation, which was hard work, but she wasn’t one to focus on the hard work. She always chose to focus on the people — her customers, many of whom became her dear friends. Anne loved people and took a sincere interest in them and they in return loved her.
The store was sold in the late ’80s, just in time for Anne Nolan’s most significant and loved occupation — grandmotherhood. Most of the grandchildren spent their summers at their grandparent’s home in Southold and Anne was very involved in their daily summer lives. In addition to Southold, Puerto Rico winters were a huge part of the past 30 years for the Nolan family and Anne easily met a diverse and interesting group of friends.
Anne Nolan lived a wonderful life filled with faith, love and adventure! She deeply loved her family, especially her husband. She was so very proud of all her children — Deirdre O’Connell, the Rev. Emmet J. Nolan, CM, Claire O’Leary and Enda Nolan, their spouses, each of her 14 grandchildren, and grandson-in-law and she was so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet her twin great-grand-baby boys.
In addition to her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Anne is survived by her sister Susan Smith and two brothers, Peter McGuinness and Thomas McGuinness.
Memorial donations may be made to the children’s lunch program at St. Joseph’s Parish in Colón, Panama. Make donations payable to Congregation of the Mission, 500 East Chelten Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144.
This is a paid notice.
