Ann Louise Krisik

Ann Louise Harrington was born on May 17, 1937 in Portland, Oregon, to Mary Foster and Norman Harrington. She and her younger sister, Judith, grew up in Oregon and Northern California. After graduating from high school, Ann enrolled in a nursing program and then she became a telephone operator. She later found her niche as a flight attendant and at 19 years old, Ann became one of the youngest flight attendants ever hired for United Airlines. She was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, where she met the love of her life, Jerry Krisik, a young, dashing Army pilot who was also stationed in Boston. They married on September 19, 1959, and had their first child, Catherine Ann (Kate), the following May. Their family grew with the addition of daughter, Lynn Marie, son, Gerald Andrew Junior.

From 1960 to 1967, they lived at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Rucker, Alabama. During that time and while Jerry was stationed in Korea and later Iran, Ann and her daughters lived near family in Yakima, Washington, and San Diego, California. Jerry left active duty in February 1967, and they moved to Minnesota after Jerry was hired as a pilot for Northwest Orient Airlines. 

In 1970, the family moved to Amery, Wisconsin, where Ann settled into farm life learning to drive a tractor, bailing hay, tapping maple trees, and using various farm implements; you'd never know she was a "City Girl". She also learned to care for the cattle and horses that were raised and lived on the farm. Ann became an expert gardener raising vegetables, flowers, and fruit trees.  Life on the farm in Amery was a dream come true for Ann.

Ann was an active volunteer with causes too numerous to mention, including a Lyme Disease support group, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Little Free Libraries, a Salvation Army Christmas bell ringer and a driver for people who needed to get to various appointments. Most notably, Ann was awarded a statewide award by then-Governor Tommy Thompson for her years of tireless work with Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, educating youth and their parents about farm safety.

Ann was active in her church, first with Holy Rosary Catholic Church, and later with St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Amery. Among other things, she served on the Altar Society, organized prayer shawl and baby blanket ministries, and sang in the choir. Singing harmony with the choir at funeral masses was particularly close to Ann's heart, as she hoped to support the family members of the deceased say goodbye to their loved ones.

Ann adopted lonely folks and people whose families were far away, beginning with Jerry's fellow pilots, children who lacked a positive home life, and elderly folks she met in church. She once served a holiday meal to an entire class of Vietnamese pilots Jerry was teaching how to fly. She also had a years-long relationship until her death with a prison inmate, Sarah. Ann always put others first and was the epitome of the Golden Rule in action treating everyone she met as she would want to be treated, even when it came with a personal cost.

Ann enjoyed hobbies that expressed her artistic talents such as ceramics, icon wall hangings, landscaping, knitting, and baking. She was known for her pies by all who enjoyed them. She was also a poet and often included personalized poetry compositions in cards and letters she penned to others. She was legendary among her children and grandchildren for her rhyming clues to treasure hunts she organized.

Ann is survived by her daughters Kate and Lynn, her son Andrew, Lynn's husband Paul Schwartz, their children and Ann's beloved grandchildren, Xavier and his wife Emily Guy, Margaret, Marie and her fiancé Matt Boddewyn, Liam, and Patrick, sister Judy and her husband Ed McDevitt, and many other family members and dear friends. Ann was predeceased by her parents, her husband Jerry, and their son, Steven who died in 1963.

Ann was a generous philanthropist supporting local, national, and international charities, so in lieu of flowers, her family requests donations to Northwoods Homeless Shelters of Amery, Wisconsin. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Amery. Visitation will begin at 12:30 P.M. and continue until the time of the Mass. A luncheon will follow. Burial will take place at Amery Cemetery at a later date.