Anne Ceranski

Gwyneth Anne Haynes Ceranski was born on October 6th, 1935 in Cornwall, England, to Gwyn and Ruth (Wilton) Haynes. Anne grew up in Plymouth, England and Risca, Wales as a child of WWII.

An avid traveler since age 16, Anne would work hard and save money to go on vacation. These vacations led to incredible job opportunities. She learned some Greek when working for a restaurant to stay at the beach. Her two week vacation in Germany lasted two years, picking up her fourth language, since she had learned French in school. While in Germany, she worked for an American military family who sponsored her entry to the US.

She moved to the US in 1960 and lived in DC. She met John while he was stationed at Fort Bragg. One of their first dates was walking up the Washington Monument, with Anne wearing three-inch heels. They always laughed about how she learned of his color blindness because he liked her green dress, even though it was brown.

She married John in Maryland in 1964. They moved around in the Midwest before finding their home in Appleton, WI in 1968, bringing them much closer to the Ceranski clan. Anne was a homemaker, an active member of the International Club, the English Club of the Fox Valley and volunteered at St. Bernadette for decades. She had an open-door policy for anyone in need, whether they had two legs or four.

Always an avid knitter, she made beautiful hats and coats for family, friends, and newborns in the Fox Valley. She was very creative with color patterns including all the seasons and local sports teams. One her goals was to make a matching hat for every kid in the local Coats for Kids program. As part of the Hooks n Needles group, she volunteered well over 1000 hours of craftmanship and received an award for her handiwork. Her knitting claim to fame was her innovative way to finish a project without any wasted wool. Never taking a break from knitting, she joined another knitting group in Florida to help keep kids and adults warm in two states.

Since 2008, Anne spent her winters in Marco Island, Florida providing memorable spring breaks for her grandchildren with many lively games of dominos and Rummikub and mandatory daily ice cream. She enjoyed daily walks to the beach for shells, coffee, making new friends, and watching the sunset. The sea has always played a big part of Anne’s life, first as a little girl in the port city of Plymouth, the Bristol Channel connecting Cornwall to Wales, and in later years, the Gulf of Mexico on Marco Island. Just like how the gulf stream currents flow to the UK, she kept her connections between England and the US ever flowing.

Anne is survived by her four children and their families: Michele and Jeff, Kim and Ron and their children Megan and Nick (Vanesa), Mark and Lisa and their children Leah (Alex) and Jenna, and John and Kristin and their children Elizabeth (Nolan) and Matthew. Her sister Jill, and her husband, Steve, and their children Liz (Howard) and Steve (Alison) and their children Charlotte (James) and Sam (Bronte) and their children. On the Ceranski side she is survived by many brothers and sisters in law including Tony (Nancy), Joe, Olive, Fidelis (Mary), Francis, Joyce, David (Barb), Pat (Arnie), and (Adrienne Stencil) along with all their children and grandchildren. She is further survived by her very best friend, Sadie Milis and her husband Dan.

Anne is preceded in death by her husband John, her parents Gwyn and Ruth Haynes, her Uncle Arthur and Aunts Mar and Marian, sisters-in-law Beverly, Sandy, Mary Jane, and Dianne, and brothers-in-law Hilary, Roland, and Dickie.

A visitation for Anne will be held on Wednesday, April 30, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, at Wichmann Tri County Chapel, 1592 Oneida St, Menasha.