Obituary of Anne Warren Mayfield

Anne Warren (Bird) Mayfield was born on October 23, 1924 in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania to Anne Warren Jackson and Benjamin Newcomer Bird. She had three older brothers and an identical twin sister: Jackson Bird, Benjamin Lee Bird, Frederic Higginson Bird and Eugenia Louise (Bird) Ackerman. She was married to Richard Heverin Mayfield for 25 years and they divorced in 1975. They had three daughters: Elinor Dodge Biller (married to Gary), Nancy Louise Mayfield (married to Rick May) and Anne Warren Mayfield (married to Gus Mohammadi) and seven grandchildren: Nick Biller, Lauren Biller, Stephanie May Wilson (married to Carl), Kelly May, Christopher Todd † (widow Stephanie), Melissa Todd and Mitra Mohammadi. Anne's father, an Episcopalian minister, died when she was six years old and her mother when she was 13. She has said that her early childhood was happy and that the loss of her parents drew her closer to her siblings. After their mother's death, the girls went to live with their mother's cousin, Elinor, and her husband, Robert Miller, in Georgetown in 1938. Childless themselves, the Millers embraced their new family wholeheartedly. The older two boys, Jack and Lee, were already in college and Fred stayed behind to finish high school. All were together with the Millers during holidays. Anne and her sister, Gene, attended Madeira school, then Anne went on to attend Bryn Mawr, followed by Bank Street College of Education. After graduation, she taught students at Vassar Laboratory School for two years before she got married. She went on to teach at McLean Gardens Elementary School for two years before having children. Anne was blessed with a wonderful opportunity, thanks to the director of the Vassar program, Evelyn Omwake. Evelyn heard that Jackie Kennedy was looking for someone to teach nursery school for Caroline and her friends at the White House. Evelyn recommended Anne and she became one of the teachers at what was known as the White House Elementary School. This was a marvelous experience for Anne! She recalled parking next to the Rose Garden, reading to the children when the President would land on the front lawn in a helicopter and hatching eggs in an incubator in the classroom. There are even pictures of Jackie, Caroline and the other classmates being treated to horse drawn sleigh rides around the White House front lawn! The bulk of Anne's professional life was spent at the Developmental Psychology Laboratory at NIMH where she worked for 27 years. She assisted with two studies: the first was a study of 2 1/2 year old children in which she and a colleague spent five weeks with groups of five children, with a total of 100 children. The other study was a longitudinal study, focusing on children of depressed parents. As the primary contact with the families, she was instrumental in bringing them back to each phase of the study. She said that both of these studies provided not only in-depth knowledge, but also the pleasure of working with the children and families. As the second study at NIMH came to an end, Anne was retiring and a pregnant colleague there inquired as to whether she would be willing to take care of her baby while she continued to work. Anne agreed and spent the next seven years caring for that child and his younger brother until the family moved away. She described that experience as a "special joy." Anne loved being with children, fostering their "joyful appreciation of life." She also spent a great deal of time with her grandchildren and Grammie was beloved by them all. She was also active at St. Columba's Episcopal Church as well, volunteering in the nursery, which she said was the highlight of her week during that time. Something that was important to Anne was physical fitness. She was always very active, taking modern dance classes and swimming at the YMCA where she was a member for so long that she was given a golden membership after being there for 50 years! Another love of Anne's was singing. She sang with a singing group called the Levine Community Singers, the St. Columba's choir and later the Ingleside choir. On Sundays, she participated in a "hymn sing" at Ingleside, helping many residents from the health center to attend by pushing their wheelchairs to the chapel. Anne's life changed a great deal when she moved into Ingleside. She became involved in the exercise programs there to keep herself active and healthy. She bemoaned the fact that, when she moved there, she had to look presentable for dinner so she couldn't get her hair wet by swimming laps! Instead, she took water aerobic classes twice a week and regularly went down an additional three times to continue her conditioning. She also attended strengthening classes held at Ingleside as well as Tai Chi, yoga, and even meditation. For many years, she was the chair of the Hospitality Committee that plans monthly teas to welcome new residents. There had always been a theme for the event which lent itself to Anne's playful nature. After resigning as chair, she continued to be part of the committee. One of her important achievements was developing a group called the Friendly Visitors that paired a resident from independent living with someone in the health center. She always reached out to people to help them feel at home, often being the first person new residents met. She did her best to encourage people to move in. She said "The sun shines at Ingleside and the flowers bloom! Tra-la-la-la!!!" One constant throughout a great deal of her life was yearly her summer trip to Squam Lake in New Hampshire initially with her immediate family and later her extended family. Her particular joy other than visiting with the relatives there were her swims in the lake. She often woke early and was in the lake by 6:30 for her first swim of the day. She was so sad this year when everyone was there and she had to miss being there due to an injury. Anne will be dearly missed by her family as well as by the residents in her beloved home in Ingleside where she lived so happily for the last 10 years of her life. A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday September 24 at Saint Columba's Church, 4201 Albemarle St., NW Washington DC, followed by a private interment at Oak Hill Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Washington Cathedral, (202) 537-6200.