Ann Uhl Drescher

Ann Uhl Drescher, 78, of Raleigh, died Friday, Oct. 14, at the Rosewood Heath Center in The Cypress retirement community in North Raleigh. Ann was born March 28, 1938, in Rockland County, N.Y., the younger of two children to Lucy and William Uhl. She graduated from Haverstraw High School in 1956. Ann then worked at the New York Foundling Hospital in Manhattan, where she pursued a nursing degree and helped the Sisters of Charity take care of children from newborn to 4 years old, including some who had been abandoned. Later she was a volunteer at two Raleigh hospitals.

Ann left the Foundling Hospital in the fall of 1957 and married Jack Drescher, also of Rockland County, N.Y. They had three children and moved from New York State to Raleigh as part of a wave of IBM families that migrated to North Carolina in the early 1970s. Ann was a devoted wife and a patient, attentive, supportive and loving mother. Manners mattered to her. When her school-age children would leave home each day, she always reminded them to be nice and be good.

Ann deeply valued her old friends and bridge-playing partners. In her later years, Ann struggled with advanced lung disease and generally was unable to leave her home at The Cypress. She knew her days were few and handled that prognosis with courage, resilience and grace. A glass -- or two -- of Merlot at dinner and the early evening helped. She was grateful that her old friends continued to call and visit her.

Ann liked “The Station,” by Robert Hastings. We all have a destination that we think will make us happy – an age, a car, a house, a job, a goal. “Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all,” Hastings wrote. “The true joy of life is the trip.” Ann was a good wife, mother, friend and volunteer who enjoyed the trip.

Ann and Jack were married for 56 years before he died in 2014. She is survived by her sister, Mary Lou Renella of Rockland County, N.Y., and husband Henry; and by her three children: Pat and husband Joe Froneberger of Charlotte; John and wife Deanna of Raleigh; and Craig and wife Margie of Warner Robins, Ga. She also is survived by 10 grandchildren. The family would like to thank the staff at The Rosewood and at Transitions/Hospice for their compassionate care of our mother.

The family will receive friends Monday from 6 to 8 pm at Mitchell Funeral Home at 7209 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh. A memorial service will be held Tuesday at 10 am at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 11401 Leesville Road in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Peace and Justice Fund at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 11401 Leesville Road, Raleigh, NC 27613, and Transitions Life Care, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607.