Anna M. McAllister of Jamesport died on May 31, 2024. She was 87 years old.
She was born on Jan. 28, 1937, and was raised in Flushing. She graduated from Dominican Commercial High School and worked as an executive secretary in New York City. She later worked as an engineering aide at Sperry Corporation while attending night school at St. John’s University.
She met her husband Jim, at a holiday party four days after his discharge from the U.S. Army. They married one year later in 1958 and raised their family in Levittown, and later in Port Jefferson Station. After helping Jim attain his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she returned to school at night, at Suffolk Community College, Stony Brook University, and Dowling College, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees of her own.
She taught in Middle Country, Comsewogue, and Greenport school districts. Upon her retirement, she taught at a substance abuse awareness program in the Riverhead School District, mentored ESL students at the Riverhead Library, and volunteered at the Southold Historic Society Horton’s Point Lighthouse.
In 1998, she and Jim moved to Jamesport and spent winters in Vero Beach, Florida. She took up golf, tennis, bocce, shuffleboard, along with mahjong. An avid reader, she shared her many favorite books with her grandchildren and others.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, James M. McAllister Sr., and by their seven children, 17 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck. Interment will follow at Calverton National Cemetery.
Memorial donations to a cancer research organization would be appreciated.
