Anna Gilbert

On June 17, 2022, Our Heavenly Father called Anna Gilbert home. Anna was born on January 19, 1930 at her parent’s home in Malaga, NJ to Romeo and Mary DeFeo. She grew up working on the family farm with her 5 brothers and 4 sisters. In 1955, she met and married Robert A. Gilbert, and together they traveled the world and raised 3 wonderful children. After living in Germany, Canada, and several locations in the US, the family ultimately settled in California, though her lifelong wanderlust would eventually see Anna move to Rixeyville, VA in 2020 with her youngest daughter and her son, coming full circle to live the last years of her life on a new family farm. Anna worked many jobs in her life, and brought her dedication, passion, and innovation to each. Anna was a storyteller of moral tales to rival Aesop, though she preferred true stories to fables. A lifelong lover of the sun, she could often be caught outside in the middle of a hot summer day moving heavy pots around her garden (always insisting to her concerned family that she was merely wiggling them back and forth, not lifting them). Anna was a devout Catholic who wouldn’t go to bed without praying the Divine Mercy, and she always had a rosary readily available somewhere on her person, though she was prone to passing them out to those she felt were in need. A home-taught chef and baker, Anna created many masterpiece meals in the kitchen (even when all she had available was hamburger) including her meatballs, her gnocchi, and her sauce, though her family would likely agree that her absolute specialty was her bread. Although she taught the recipe to her children and her grandchildren, none of them have yet been able to replicate her perfect rhythm as she kneaded the dough. She was also known to experiment making her own jams, jellies, and flavored liquors, which were passed around on special occasions for tastings with the family. Anna was passionate about making sure her family had a well-rounded education, was endlessly proud of each of her children and grandchildren for their educational achievements, and loved their hockey matches and football games as much as she loved their opening nights and concerts. To the family dogs (and even some of her daughter’s horses) she was known as the Cookie Lady, and could often be heard saying, “Now no more” as she passed out at least 2 more cookies apiece to each pup sitting nearby. Anna’s home was always a place of love and the center of life for her family and friends. Anna is preceded in death by her parents, Romeo and Mary DeFeo, brothers Anthony, George, Pat, Nick, and Angelo DeFeo, sisters Pauline Nicastro and Angelina Congdon, and her loving husband of 62 years, Robert A. Gilbert. Anna leaves behind her daughter and son-in-law Barbara and Darryl Curry, son and daughter-in-law Robert Jr. and Lisa Gilbert, daughter Catherine Gilbert, grandchildren George Curry, Anna Curry, Robert Gilbert III, Jessica Gilbert, and Melissa Gilbert, sisters Jean Fanucci and Ramona Sansalone, and numerous nieces and nephews. A rosary will be held on October 20, 2022 at 4:15 PM at St. John the Evangelist Church, Warrenton, VA. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer on October 21, 2022 at 12:45 PM with interment to follow at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to either the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. or to EWTN, Irondale, AL.