Mrs. Anne Santos Was Longtime Island Resident

Mrs. Anne M. Santos, formerly of Edgartown and Vineyard Haven, died on Monday at Falmouth Hospital after a brief illness. She was the wife of the late Manuel J. Santos of Edgartown. She had been a resident of the Vineyard for 55 years.

Mrs. Santos was born in Wilton, N.H., in 1915 and raised in Quincy, attending Quincy public schools and graduating from Quincy High School in 1933. She moved to Boston to attend the Boston Business School, majoring in bookkeeping and gaining expertise on the comptroller, an extremely sophisticated accounting tool of its time. Upon graduating, she went to work at Massachusetts General Hospital. She enjoyed working at the hospital, and lived with other staff at the hospital in a dormitory setting. The bustle of city life was appealing at first, but she decided to go out on her own. In 1937 she moved to the Vineyard and started a small business taking care of homes for the summer residents.

She met her husband, Manuel, in 1939, and they were married in Quincy on New Year's Eve on the following year, enjoying a reception in their honor at the home of her sister, Grace. After a honeymoon they moved to their home on State Road in Edgartown, which they shared for 45 years. Mrs. Santos worked as both homemaker and bookkeeper for her husband, supporting both his monument business (Island Memorial) and lawn and garden business until his retirement in 1976. She remained on State Road after his death in 1986, taking care of the property they both loved until 1997, when she moved to an apartment at Havenside in Vineyard Haven.

Mrs. Santos had many hobbies and interests. She was an avid glass collector, and her collection of antique bottles and beach glass was unrivaled on the Island. She also enjoyed preserving jellies and jams, playing bridge and rummy and maintaining a beautiful vegetable and flower garden. She took extreme pride in the appearance of her flower beds and shrubs.

She leaves a stepson and daughter in law, George B. and Sally F. Santos of E. Falmouth; six grandsons; 14 great-grandchildren, nine nieces and nephews; many grand-nieces and nephews, and her dear friend, Gen Prada of Edgartown.

There will be a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 15, at St. Elizabeth's in Edgartown, with interment to follow at the New Westside Cemetery. Donations in her memory may be sent to the St. Elizabeth Women's Guild, P.O. Box 156, Edgartown, MA 02539. Arrangements are by the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.