Anne S. Darling | News, Sports, Jobs

The date for a memorial service will be set at a later time. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the United Church of Painted Post Food Pantry.

Anne was born in Lakewood, New York to Arthur Schobeck and Mildred Vanstrom. An only child, she graduated from Lakewood High School, Cornell University and Cornell Law School, where she was one of only two women in her class, which was otherwise full of men returning from World War II. Although she would never have called herself a pioneer for women’s equality, she was.

With the exception of a short stint in Washington D.C. after law school, she lived in Western New York State her entire life, and in the Corning area for over sixty five years. She had two children with her first husband, William Dana, and two with her second, Dr. Arthur P. “Pete” Darling, as well as being a stepmother to his daughter. With a blended family that included five children and a busy surgeon, dinner was always an impressive production.

Anne was a devoted wife, married to Pete for almost 40 years until his death in 2001. They were inseparable, spending hours together every day talking, going on walks, occasionally arguing and later, following her husband’s retirement, traveling together throughout the United States and Canada. All the children knew that the time when Mother and Father would sit in the living room in front of a fire drinking Martinis at the end of the day was sacred.

Anne was strong and practical, and had a dry, incisive sense of humor. She was a calm, disciplined presence, bearing sorrow and celebrating achievement with an unshakable dignity and composure. She was her family’s architect, its engine, and its scaffolding. She knew herself, she knew her values and priorities, and they never changed. Her family relied on her for that.

She set high standards for herself, her children, and grandchildren, and maintained them for her entire life. As one example, none of her kids left for school, ever, without having had a hot breakfast. There was no cereal in the house. As another, when discussing the issue of dress, she observed that she “wouldn’t go out to the mailbox without putting on lipstick.”

Anne was active in local organizations and held a number of leadership positions. A longtime member of the United Church of Painted Post, she volunteered for many years on the board of the food pantry. She was a docent at the Corning Museum of Glass, a job she loved. She delivered for Meals on Wheels. She was a founding board member of Aging in Place and a strong advocate for (and example of) elders remaining in their homes. In her last years, she particularly valued the relationships she built with her caregivers from the Visiting Angels agency, and she was pleased to be a kind of mentor and role model for many of the younger women who took care of her. Although she was a fiercely independent and private person, she learned in her later years the unsurpassed importance of support and friendship.

She is survived by her five children: Cynthia Bliss of Hannacroix, NY; Charles Dana of Park City, UT; Catherine Dana of New York, NY; Peter Darling of Carmel Valley, CA; and Mary Darling of Atascadero, CA. She’s also survived by her grandchildren: Joe, Jake and Sarah Bliss, and David Sugrue; Hollis and Taylor Dana; Alexander and Anna Pouschine; and Amelia, Laura and Grace Darling. Finally, she has four great-grandchildren: Colin, Eric, Jackson and Jake – and another is on the way. Call it 4 ¢.

And now, she is reunited with her beloved Arthur who has been waiting for her. He is fly fishing in a stream. She is sitting on the bank with a book. Together, they will picnic, drinking sherry from plastic glasses, and as they always did, and now always will, they will talk.

Anne’s care was entrusted to Haughey Funeral Home, Inc.