Ann S. de Vries

Ann S. de Vries of Newton, N.J., passed away Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, at Forest Manor Health Care Center in Hope, N.J. She was 98.

Ann was born on April 3, 1923, in the Franklin Hospital, to the late Daniel R. Steele and Grace (Harms) Steele.

A lifelong Newton resident, Ann graduated from the Newton High School, on Halsted Street, in the Class of 1941. After high school she attended the Wilfred Beauty Academy. Upon graduation, she accepted a position with Wilfred and worked there as a hairdresser, commuting in daily on the train from Newton. In the 1950s she decided to go into business for herself and opened the Powder-Puff Beauty Salon on Spring Street in Newton.

Ann married in 1956, and shortly thereafter she closed the beauty salon. After closing the Powder-Puff she held various paid and voluntary positions over the subsequent years. She was the Executive Director of the Sussex County Historical Society through most of the 1960s. She delivered flower arrangements throughout Sussex and Warren counties for Ward’s Flowers and Gifts, and she worked for the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles in the Newton DMV office. Ann started at the OMV office as a clerk and retired from there as the Office Manager.

Ann was retired for 33 years. Much of her retirement was spent enjoying her time with her family. In her later years she took up walking around her neighborhood for exercise. She enjoyed being outdoors. She also enjoyed following the New York Mets, but in her heart, she was a Dodgers fan from her childhood.

Ann was a lifelong member of the St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Newton.

Ann was predeceased by her husband, Ralph de Vries in 2003. They were married for 46 years. She is survived by her son, Byron de Vries and his wife, Beatrice; her three granddaughters; Linda de Vries and her boyfriend Robert Matthews, of West Milford; Christina Davidson and her husband, Andrew of Rochester, N.Y., and Cindy Johnson and her husband, Seth of Olean, NY; her three great-grandsons, Spencer Brownlee, Landon Johnson, Micah Johnson and her two great-granddaughters, Emily Brownlee and Quinlan Johnson.

Visitation was held on Feb. 1, followed by a service in the Iliff-Ruggiero Funeral Home, Newton.

Ann requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).