Ann Smolowe ’81


Ann Smolowe ’81 died August 14 at home in Norwich, Vermont, after a two-year battle with colon cancer. Ann attended Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, where she stood out on stage and the gymnastics team. A government major at Dartmouth, she competed on the cross-country ski team, once catapulting off the ski jump on cross-country skis. Ann worked at the American Stock Exchange after graduation. Then, in 1984, she hiked the Appalachian Trail, a six-month, 2,178-mile trek from Georgia to Maine, inviting friends and relatives to join her for sections of the journey. She married one of those traveling companions, architect James Wasser, in Sanborn Library in 1985. For 14 years Ann headed the corporate market team for Project Adventure, a consulting company. In 2005 she joined Dartmouth’s development office, becoming senior managing director of leadership giving. After her diagnosis Ann raised funds for Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center through the Prouty Bike Ride & Challenge Walk. Weeks before her death she fielded a 185-member team and raised more than $110,000. Friends recall her courageous nature, keen sense of fun and deep, resonant laugh. Ann is survived by her husband; children Emily and Jeremy; parents Richard and Greta; siblings Alan, Jill and Jonathan; nana Agatha; and five nieces and nephews. Donations may go to the Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation, P.O. Box 361460, Los Angeles, CA 90036 (www.andreriveroflife.org) or Unlimited Possibilities, P.O. Box 635, Milton, NH 03851 (lbarr1@mac.com).