William Henry Annis
1928-11-28 2024-12-12
William Annis
ROCKPORT — William Henry Annis was born on Nov. 28, 1928, on his family’s farm in Rockport. Bill was the fifth of six children born to Cecil and Zilpha (Coombs) Annis, with 18 years separating oldest from youngest. Bill started school in a one-room schoolhouse within walking distance of the farm.
Bill was country strong, and he needed to be, growing up on a hardscrabble farm during the Depression. Especially when his beloved older brother Walter left Maine to serve in the Pacific Theater in World War II, his family counted on Bill to hitch up oxen or horses to hay the fields, plant and harvest crops, milk cows and tend to livestock. Despite many hardships, Bill spoke fondly of growing up in rural Maine in a big family, surrounded by aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors who supported and depended on each other. Throughout his life, Bill would always say “yes” when anyone needed help — painting a house, shingling a roof or fixing a plumbing problem. The scope of his abilities never failed to impress, and he credited his extended Rockport clan for much of what he learned. He also regaled listeners with stories of family baseball in the pasture on Sundays, dances to raise money to put a roof on the community hall and sending his father off to Boston with a truckload of Maine trees to sell for Christmas.
But Bill knew the importance of education, and left Rockport to attend the University of Maine. In 1952, during the Korean Conflict, Bill was drafted into the Army. He trained at Fort Devens and then served in Indiantown Gap, Pa. Bill attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox and graduated as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to first lieutenant, and ended his service at Fort Benning, Ga., serving as the regimental installation and environment officer.
Bill began his teaching career in Conway, N.H., where he met his future wife, Elizabeth (Forrest) of Silver Lake, known to all who loved her as “Sis.” Sis was a beautiful dancer and caught Bill's eye right away. Sis was also an accomplished skier, so when Bill got roped into coaching the high school ski team (with no experience!), he wisely learned to love skiing. Bill even became a ski instructor at the Hannes Schneider Ski School at Mt. Cranmore! (In later years, Bill joined his boys on their ski trips, despite finding that keeping up with their apres-ski regimen often made skiing the next morning a challenge.)
Bill and Sis married and moved to Colebrook, N.H. While teaching and doing summer sessions, Bill got his master’s degree in agricultural education from the University of New Hampshire. After their first son, Scott, was born, the young family moved to Ithaca, N.Y., where Bill earned his doctorate from Cornell (and where son Jeff was born).
The growing family moved to Amherst, Mass., where Bill worked for the state’s Department of Education as the supervisor of agricultural education, and their son Gregg was born. In 1962, Bill joined the faculty of the University of New Hampshire, teaching agricultural education. Bill and Sis built a house in Durham and became lifelong friends with many of their neighbors, enjoying a bridge club gathering at least monthly. (This group of friends had so much fun that they rarely found time to play bridge!) Bill and Sis and their three boys were busy, skiing and racing most weekends in the winter. One summer, the family took a road trip in a trailer home, traveling all over the United States to see the sights, including many national parks. Bill also took his family on sabbatical to England where he and Sis made many more friends. (In fact, making lifelong friends was a gift that Bill and Sis shared.)
Bill retired as a professor from UNH in 1995 and turned his energies toward working with 4H of New Hampshire, serving as a trustee of the Eastern States Exposition, judging agricultural fairs and engaging in various Masonic activities. Bill also realized his dream of visiting China, traveling there multiple times as a consultant. Sis tagged along on Bill’s last trip to China, and they took two granddaughters and son Gregg with them for an amazing experience.
Bill and Sis enjoyed many other travel adventures before moving to Riverwoods in Exeter, N.H. Upon Sis’s passing in 2015, Bill moved to Massachusetts, and, in 2022, to Pond Home in Wrentham, where he passed away peacefully on Dec. 3, 2024. Bill had just celebrated his 96th birthday with a large gathering of family and friends on Thanksgiving Day.
Those who knew Bill will remember the many stories he told of his iconic childhood, the pride he took in his children and grandchildren, the love he had for his wife of nearly 60 years and the reverence he had for his dear parents, whom he remembered to the end.
Bill is survived by his brother, Herbert Annis of Rockport; his sons, Scott Annis of Milford, Mass., Jeffrey Annis of Duxbury, Mass. and Gregg Annis of Greenland, N.H.; his daughters-in-law, Rebecca (Woods) Annis, Amy (Brown) Annis and Kelly Dobben-Annis; and his grandchildren, Caroline Necheles of Arlington, Va., Heather Annis of Philadelphia, Pa., Liam Annis of Huntington Beach, Calif, Kathleen Annis of Milford, Mass., Lennon Annis of Portsmouth, N.H. and Will Annis and Jonathan Annis of Duxbury, Mass.
A memorial service will take place at noon on Dec. 21, 2024, at St. John’s Masonic Lodge, 351 Middle St., Portsmouth, N.H., with a reception immediately following. All are welcome. Interment with an honor guard will be at Durham Cemetery in 2025.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Bill’s memory to the Dr. William H. Annis Graduate Scholarship Fund, c/o UNH Foundation, 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824, or to Pond Home (nonprofit, legal name King’s Daughters & Sons Home) 289 East St., Wrentham MA 02093.
ROCKPORT — William Henry Annis was born on Nov. 28, 1928, on his family’s farm in Rockport. Bill was the fifth of six children born to Cecil and Zilpha (Coombs) Annis, with 18 years separating oldest from youngest. Bill started school in a one-room schoolhouse within walking distance of the farm.
Bill was country strong, and he needed to be, growing up on a hardscrabble farm during the Depression. Especially when his beloved older brother Walter left Maine to serve in the Pacific Theater in World War II, his family counted on Bill to hitch up oxen or horses to hay the fields, plant and harvest crops, milk cows and tend to livestock. Despite many hardships, Bill spoke fondly of growing up in rural Maine in a big family, surrounded by aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors who supported and depended on each other. Throughout his life, Bill would always say “yes” when anyone needed help — painting a house, shingling a roof or fixing a plumbing problem. The scope of his abilities never failed to impress, and he credited his extended Rockport clan for much of what he learned. He also regaled listeners with stories of family baseball in the pasture on Sundays, dances to raise money to put a roof on the community hall and sending his father off to Boston with a truckload of Maine trees to sell for Christmas.
But Bill knew the importance of education, and left Rockport to attend the University of Maine. In 1952, during the Korean Conflict, Bill was drafted into the Army. He trained at Fort Devens and then served in Indiantown Gap, Pa. Bill attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox and graduated as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to first lieutenant, and ended his service at Fort Benning, Ga., serving as the regimental installation and environment officer.
Bill began his teaching career in Conway, N.H., where he met his future wife, Elizabeth (Forrest) of Silver Lake, known to all who loved her as “Sis.” Sis was a beautiful dancer and caught Bill's eye right away. Sis was also an accomplished skier, so when Bill got roped into coaching the high school ski team (with no experience!), he wisely learned to love skiing. Bill even became a ski instructor at the Hannes Schneider Ski School at Mt. Cranmore! (In later years, Bill joined his boys on their ski trips, despite finding that keeping up with their apres-ski regimen often made skiing the next morning a challenge.)
Bill and Sis married and moved to Colebrook, N.H. While teaching and doing summer sessions, Bill got his master’s degree in agricultural education from the University of New Hampshire. After their first son, Scott, was born, the young family moved to Ithaca, N.Y., where Bill earned his doctorate from Cornell (and where son Jeff was born).
The growing family moved to Amherst, Mass., where Bill worked for the state’s Department of Education as the supervisor of agricultural education, and their son Gregg was born. In 1962, Bill joined the faculty of the University of New Hampshire, teaching agricultural education. Bill and Sis built a house in Durham and became lifelong friends with many of their neighbors, enjoying a bridge club gathering at least monthly. (This group of friends had so much fun that they rarely found time to play bridge!) Bill and Sis and their three boys were busy, skiing and racing most weekends in the winter. One summer, the family took a road trip in a trailer home, traveling all over the United States to see the sights, including many national parks. Bill also took his family on sabbatical to England where he and Sis made many more friends. (In fact, making lifelong friends was a gift that Bill and Sis shared.)
Bill retired as a professor from UNH in 1995 and turned his energies toward working with 4H of New Hampshire, serving as a trustee of the Eastern States Exposition, judging agricultural fairs and engaging in various Masonic activities. Bill also realized his dream of visiting China, traveling there multiple times as a consultant. Sis tagged along on Bill’s last trip to China, and they took two granddaughters and son Gregg with them for an amazing experience.
Bill and Sis enjoyed many other travel adventures before moving to Riverwoods in Exeter, N.H. Upon Sis’s passing in 2015, Bill moved to Massachusetts, and, in 2022, to Pond Home in Wrentham, where he passed away peacefully on Dec. 3, 2024. Bill had just celebrated his 96th birthday with a large gathering of family and friends on Thanksgiving Day.
Those who knew Bill will remember the many stories he told of his iconic childhood, the pride he took in his children and grandchildren, the love he had for his wife of nearly 60 years and the reverence he had for his dear parents, whom he remembered to the end.
Bill is survived by his brother, Herbert Annis of Rockport; his sons, Scott Annis of Milford, Mass., Jeffrey Annis of Duxbury, Mass. and Gregg Annis of Greenland, N.H.; his daughters-in-law, Rebecca (Woods) Annis, Amy (Brown) Annis and Kelly Dobben-Annis; and his grandchildren, Caroline Necheles of Arlington, Va., Heather Annis of Philadelphia, Pa., Liam Annis of Huntington Beach, Calif, Kathleen Annis of Milford, Mass., Lennon Annis of Portsmouth, N.H. and Will Annis and Jonathan Annis of Duxbury, Mass.
A memorial service will take place at noon on Dec. 21, 2024, at St. John’s Masonic Lodge, 351 Middle St., Portsmouth, N.H., with a reception immediately following. All are welcome. Interment with an honor guard will be at Durham Cemetery in 2025.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Bill’s memory to the Dr. William H. Annis Graduate Scholarship Fund, c/o UNH Foundation, 9 Edgewood Road, Durham, NH 03824, or to Pond Home (nonprofit, legal name King’s Daughters & Sons Home) 289 East St., Wrentham MA 02093.