Anna Lowell Tomlinson died at the age of 97 on Oct. 13 at Windemere Nursing Home.

She was born on Dec. 9, 1926 in Springfield, the second daughter of Roger Lowell Putnam and Carolina Piatt Jenkins.

She was educated at Norton Convent of the Sacred Heart, and received her BA from Parsons School of Design in 1947. She married Dr. James J. Finnerty in April 1948 and they lived in Sweden for a year.

Upon their return they lived in New York where their three children ­were born: James Magnus Finnerty, Charles Russel Lowell Putnam Finnerty, and Anna Lowell Finnerty.

Divorced in 1956, she continued to live in the house on Tea Lane she inherited from her great-uncle. In 1980 she married Prof. Everett P. Tomlinson and went to live in Chatham.

Descended from two of the three wives of “the old Judge” John Lowell, she had a love of genealogy and a special interest in the Maryland side of her family, which she shared first with her family, creating “ancestor books” for her siblings, then generously researching the ancestors of every friend who asked her for help, and finally, at the request of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, transcribing the Vital Records of the Town of Chatham from 1696 to 1990.

Her grandmother, Elizabeth Lowell Putnam, was an accomplished watercolorist, a talent which passed to several of her descendants, including Anna. That gift, together with her sense of mischief, displayed itself in four delightfully whimsical books about the adventures of her cat, Lucius. She also illustrated a book about a trip to Venice with her sister. To see her sitting with her sketchbook in one hand, a brush in the other, and a tiny jar of water beside her stool bringing a scene to life was to see someone completely and happily in the moment.

Predeceased by her son James, she leaves her son Charles R.L.P Finnerty and her daughter Anna Lowell Finnerty, both residents of Martha’s Vineyard, four grandchildren, and three step-daughters. She also leaves a sister Mary P. Chatfield and a brother Michael C.J. Putnam.

Her final months were under the skilled and kind care of her hospice team. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to this wonderful entity that the Island is so fortunate to have: Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard, 455 State Rd. PMB 244, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 or online (hospiceofmv.org/donations/). In addition, a special note of much gratitude too her caregivers at Windemere. Thank you all.

A gathering in her honor will be held at a later date.