Ann Dufour, 75, of King, NC passed away Sunday, May 8, after an extended battle with complications from diabetes and strokes; she was a sister, matriarch, friend and partner. Ann worked at RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company from 1967 until she retired in 2001. During her career she worked in Personnel and finally in IT - Information Resources. She was instrumental in creating the initial email addresses for the entire enterprise as digital communications were implemented. Later she was part of the team ensuring the company was prepared for the impacts of Y2K. After retirement she worked for several years at H&R Block preparing taxes and managing a local office. She enjoyed helping her customers and becoming friends with her co-workers.
Outside of work she had many passions.
She had opportunities to travel with friends and have wonderful adventures whether fun mountain shopping trips or adventures through cruises. Her constant happy-place was the beach. She made friends with those she met at the beach, enjoyed a great beach read with her toes in the sand, or an amazing dinner out for a great laugh. She loved introducing her grandkids and their friends to the joys of being at the beach, riding on the golf-cart, hanging out at the pool or on the beach building sand castles and playing in the water.
She loved crafts, earlier in life doing needle work, trying embroidery, knitting and crochet. Eventually she found quilting; her excitement and pure joy spending hours selecting the perfect print, perfect colors to work with the perfect pattern. She would take extreme care piecing them together in the most amazing stories told through her talents and love of the art that is obvious in every piece. As her health continued to decline, one of the most difficult things for her was losing the ability to continue working with her quilts.
The most precious people to her were her grandchildren. She was the first one to ever hold Jason as he was born, she was the first one to see the glint of mischief in Price’s eyes at only a few minutes old and she was able to spend time encouraging and supporting Sara’s personal and educational growth. She wanted the kids to love learning and reading as much as she did, often taking them on excursions to Barnes & Noble that could take hours and resulting in arm loads of books leaving the store.
As in many things in life today, it takes a village. Ann’s village was led by her life-partner Thomas Kemp Worrell. He tirelessly cared for her every need, ensuring she knew every minute of every day how much he loved her. The family can never express our heartfelt thanks for all he did to care for Ann even after she took her last breath.
The family received incredible support from the staff at the dialysis center, wound care center, Hospice, and the nurses and doctors at the hospital. We are forever grateful for the care she received and the guidance given the family to ensure we could secure the care she needed.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Hospice organizations so they may continue to support families and patients in their most difficult times.
Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Blanche Poole, and her brothers, James and Donald Poole. Ann is survived by her brother, Robert Poole (Glynda), sister-in-law Janet Poole, sister Sandra Sink (Don - deceased), her children Missy (Dan) Singer, Kevin Dufour, and grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.
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