Life Story for
Ann Crane Nosworthy
Ann Crane Nosworthy of Ketchum, Idaho died in the evening on June 3 after battling ovarian cancer for over a year. She was 56.
Ann was born in Palo Alto, California to Robert (Bob) and Margaret (Peggy) Crane. The youngest of four children, she grew up chasing after her three brothers and taking full advantage of family hike, ski, and fly fishing trips across the West. At the age of 16, she became the first woman to ever fly fish from the Upper Camp of the Lower Dean River Lodge in British Columbia, even catching three steelhead on the first boat ride up to camp. Her love of adventure extended through her college years at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she traveled the globe with Semester at Sea before graduating with a degree in communications.
Ann met Drew Nosworthy, her husband of 30 years and the love of her life, after moving to Ketchum in the 1980s. They built their own house north of town where they raised their three children, Katie (27), Sophie (24), and Walker (21). Later on, they also built a summer cabin with a view of the Sawtooth Mountains in Stanley, the town where they had gone on a hike for their very first date. Ann ultimately died at their Ketchum home with her family by her side, the spring wildflowers in bloom, and the fresh mountain air wafting through the door.
Ann possessed the unique combination of warmth, intelligence, and inherent kindness that instantly endeared her to anyone lucky enough to know her. She had an uncanny ability to connect with new people, instantly putting them at ease and inspiring great conversations. Her sense of humor and quick wit could split a room into laughter, but more often, it filled the room with a constant warmth and openness that welcomed guests and gave family a true sense of comfort. Quick to laugh and slow to anger, Ann chose to use her sharp intelligence and wit to be the best wife and mother she could be, offering a kind ear, endless support, and keen insight as her children grew into young adults.
While Ann never lost her love of adventure, she always appreciated the simple moments in life, ranging from endless summers on the lake in Stanley to winter mornings with a steaming cup of coffee to long hikes with the dogs in the Sawtooth and Pioneer Mountains. Both laidback and full of spark, she focused her life on family, friends, and pursuing joy in nature. She possessed the kind of genuine beauty and vitality that develops away from mirrors, that grows over time, and that you might capture in a great photograph on a family hike or witness in a moment of pure, unadulterated peace at home.
Despite a grim prognosis, Ann set her sights on a cure and fought tirelessly through surgery, chemotherapy, and a clinical trial. She walked six miles a day over the summer, keeping her mind and body strong for the endless demands of treatment. Her grace and dignity in the face of a brutal disease shone when, shortly after her diagnosis, she affirmed her intention to fight for the cure: “I love my life and there is nothing I would have changed. I only want more of it.”
Ann leaves behind her husband, three children, three brothers, relatives in California and Canada, and many friends all over the country. To say that she will be missed is an understatement; we are all immensely lucky to have shared a small piece of space and time with her. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of the Wood River Valley and Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley.