Anne Duncan Buckton, 80, died peacefully in her home on October 21, 2026 in Baltimore, MD.

Even while managing advanced lung cancer in her final years, she lived happily and well.

Spitting image and superfan of Mary Travers (of Peter Paul and Mary fame), Anne was born on

March 6, 1946 in Windsor, Ontario in Canada. Her earliest years were spent in Detroit and

Windsor before the family moved to Orange County, California. Anne had a Southern California

youth straight out of Ozzie and Harriet. She attended La Habra High School where she

performed with The Lassies, a Highland Dancing troupe who performed at the Seattle World's

Fair in 1962. The school's mascot, the Highlander, coincidentally paralleled her own Scottish

heritage. Anne graduated from high school in 1964 and went on to graduate from UCLA four

years later.

Anne worked at Disneyland, taught school in Southern California, attended business school,

kissed Sammy Davis Jr. in Las Vegas, traveled to Europe multiple times, and took a cross

country road trip in a Porsche before meeting Tom Buckton- who would become her husband of

47 years. They moved to St. George, Utah in 1975 and Anne did her best to bring a little Sunset

Magazine flair to southern Utah. She called many places home after that: Illinois, California,

Arizona, and Maryland. Everywhere she went she had a strong group of friends who looked up

to her not only because at 5'10" she was taller than most of them, but because of her creativity,

charm, charisma, and kindness.

She taught for over two decades at Hawthorn Intermediate and Middle Schools in Vernon Hills,

Illinois. Her classroom contained something unusual- a collection of dirt from around the world

that she began on her own travels and added to by students over the years. In addition to

leading students, she led teachers and was for a time the head of the teacher's union. She

earned a master's degree in Geography and spent time studying rivers funded by National

Geographic. She even spent a summer painting a map of the United States on the school's

blacktop.

Anne was also an inspiring maker, you name it she did it. Knitting, needlepoint, tatting,

smocking, ceramics, basketry and most importantly sewing. She made two wedding dresses

and over 50 quilts in her day, and while she did not identify as a cook, she made a mean prime

rib dinner every Christmas. She was also a devoted caregiver, supporting both her mother and

husband in their journeys with Alzheimer's.

She is preceded in death by her father David Duncan, mother Christina Duncan, brother David

Duncan, and husband Tom Buckton. She is survived by her daughter and best friend Christine

Tillman, her son in law Robert, and beloved granddaughter Polly. She will have a green burial at

Serenity Ridge in Woodlawn, Maryland. Anne wished for those wanting to make a donation in

her honor to donate to a charity of their choice. A Ouija board once told Anne that in a past life

she had been a dolphin, and also Walt Whitman. She remained curious about what might come

next.