Carol Ann Heller, born February 1, 1936, died on April 10, 2022, at the young and feisty age of 86 at Hospice of Dayton. Ann to friends and Annie to family was born in Middletown, Ohio and attended Northwestern University studying journalism. Ann started her professional career as a reporter and assistant city editor. A food lover with an adventuresome pallet, Ann worked for 29 years as the food editor and 31 years as restaurant critic of the Dayton Daily News and Journal Herald and retired in 2006. Ann’s “It’s Simple” was published in 1980 by the Journal Herald and “The Best of It’s Simple: Easy Recipes for Today’s Lifestyles and Tastes” was published in 1992 by the Dayton Daily News. Following retirement, Ann continued to test recipes and appease the tastes of friends and family in her home. Ann was a world traveler, an adventuresome, independent spirit with an infectious laugh, a superb tennis player, a wonderful sport, and enjoyed a multitude of activities but, and no surprise, mostly food. It was not uncommon to have breakfast with Ann in deep discussion of what would be prepared for dinner. Gardening was another passion of Ann’s and her garden in the Oregon District will continue to deliver passers-by even in Ann’s absence. She also enjoyed cocktails on her porch.
Ann is survived by her sister Doris Elaine Thomson (New York) and nieces Jennifer Ann Thomson (Julie Lawton) (Spokane, WA) and Susan Tracy Thomson (Andy Roberts) (New York) and wonderful and loving friends including but not limited to, Michael Barnes, Todd Crawford, Teri and Todd Carver (Dayton) and Kate Lawson (Michigan), and her beloved cat Charlie. She was preceded in death by her parents Roland S. and Florence T. Heller and brother-in-law Herbert S. Thomson. Ann was truly loved by so many and will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Hospice of Dayton, Montgomery County Historical Society, Oregon Historic Society, or to the Human Society. A celebration of Ann’s life for fans, friends and family will be planned in the future.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.tobias-fh.com for the Heller family.
