Ann Watson Bickford, age 100, of Bethlehem, PA died on December 18, 2016 in Bethlehem. She was the wife of the late Edward Davidson Bickford, who died on September 16, 1995.

Ann was born in Buffalo, New York on August 23, 1916, the youngest of three daughters of the late Arnold Beach and Esther (Goodyear) Watson. After spending her childhood in Buffalo, she graduated from Oldfields School in Glencoe, MD. She was married at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, NY on June 10, 1937. Ann followed her husband’s career relocations at Bethlehem Steel Company including Greenwich and New Haven, CT, Cleveland, OH and finally settling in Bethlehem in 1956. She raised five children spending the summers at the family’s home in Saranac Lake, NY and winter vacations in Bermuda. She was an avid tennis player reaching the finals of the Connecticut State Championships and winning many tournaments at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem. Ann enjoyed gardening, music, reading, and loved her many dogs. Above all she enjoyed spending time with her extensive family and life long friends.

Ann was a long-standing member of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity and Saucon Valley Country Club both in Bethlehem.

Survivors: Ann is survived by four children: daughters Mary Ann Casey of Hobe Sound, FL and Patricia B. Donnelly of Queensbury, NY; sons Edward W. Bickford, husband of Katherine (May) of Dedham, MA and Peter W. Bickford, husband of Katrina (von Herrmann) of Wilton, CT. She has 15 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren. Ann is predeceased by her daughter Susan Bickford Thomas (1972), and her sisters Ellen Watson Spaulding and Esther Watson Crane.

Services: A private funeral service will be held in June of 2017 at St. John’s in the Wilderness Episcopal Church, Paul Smith’s, NY followed by a burial in the Parish Cemetery. The family will also hold a calling from 4PM to 6PM on Sunday, January 15, 2017 in the chapel at the John F. Herron Funeral Home, 458 Center at Market Street in Bethlehem, PA.

Contributions: Contributions can be made in memory of Ann to the Bickford Family Fund at the Trudeau Institute, 154 Algonquin Avenue, Saranac Lake, NY 12983.