D. Ann Squier

D. Ann Squier, age 56, died peacefully Wednesday August 26th at her home in the company of her life partner, Tim Van Natta and friends after a long battle with brain cancer. She is loved and will be dearly missed. A causual celebration of life will be held at a later date in Lawrence, along with a grave site memorial service in Brownell Kansas interring her ashes.

The daughter of William and Veta Squier was born on March 19th 1959 in Ransom Kansas. She grew up on her family’s wheat and cattle homestead in Brownell until she graduated from the local high school. Leaving the rural life she knew behind, she attended Fort Hays State University and received her BA in Sociology. Continuing in her studies she moved to Lawrence and completed in short order her Masters and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1991 that concentrated on gerontological issues.

D. Ann will be remembered for her spunky dispostion and quick wit. Her love of life was evident in her many friendships, as well as her piano playing but mostly in her natural ability to break into a dance and shake her stuff at night clubs and music festivals.

She would spend many a dark night gazing into the vastness of space and could show you the constellations, stars and planets in any season as they rose and set within the night sky. Ad astra per aspera, my little princess.

She loved to travel and visited many a city and country and learned of their ways. In her later years she relished in shooting pool, gardening, camping and venturing out many a time to major league baseball games in St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City.

An advocate of knowledge and reading, she worked at the Oread Bookshop in the Memorial Union for 19 years and then as a Medicare Representative until her illness befell her.

Survivors include Tim, her bosom buddy of 30 years whom she met while attending KU, her parents, her brothers John and Lee, his wife Colette, her nieces Stefanie and Cecily, her husband Steve Visser along with two grandnephews Nels and Karsten from Austin.

Online condolences may be sent to rumsey-yost.com.