Florence Anne Stuart

MADISON—Florence Anne Stuart died peacefully in her home on May 3, 2019, at the age of 84. A private memorial service was held at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on July 12, 2019. The daughter of Charles A. and Margery Alicia (McCleary) Lundberg, Anne was born in Wilmette, Ill. on April 12, 1935, the oldest of three children. Margery Susan is her younger sister; Charles Lundberg (also deceased) her brother. Anne’s father passed away at a young age, and her mother remarried. Delbert Alton Forsberg and Margery Alicia joined in marriage in Madison on Sept. 17, 1949. Del adopted Margery’s three children and he and Margery went on to have three more, Christie, Corinne (“Connie”), and Adele. Anne graduated from Madison Central High School. On Aug. 27, 1955, Anne Forsberg was joined in marriage to John Perham Hobbins at the home of Anne’s parents on Farwell Drive in Maple Bluff. Both were attending the UW-Madison at the time. Anne graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. She put her gifts and degree to use later as an interior designer. She designed the house on 2117 Sheridan Drive where she lived most of her life. She was a project associate at Central Colony where she won awards for modifying the interior and play areas of what had been a bleak institutional environment. For many years she organized the West Towne Mall Art Fair to benefit Central Colony. Anne and John had five children, John, James, Joseph, Jean, and Jered. Active in the community and church, First Bashford United Methodist; then Buckeye Evangelical Free, Anne raised her children to love nature, homecooked meals, reading, and family gatherings. Anne helped with the naturalization and design of Warner Park over the decades. She was an active member of the Brentwood Neighborhood Association. She hosted a dessert party at the family home on the southern edge of Warner Park for the annual Fourth of July festivities. A large crowd of family and friends attended for many years. She was an Attic Angels member and volunteer. Anne was joined in marriage to Lawrence (“Larry”) W Stuart on May 7, 1989. Together they raised Larry’s three children, Todd, Tiffany, and Tyler. As time went on, two families blended together. Over the years, many a Thanksgiving and Christmas family gathering brought together Anne and Larry (and John and his second wife Ophelia on occasion), most if not all their children and their children’s spouses, and many of their grandchildren. The Forsberg family gatherings near Eagle River, Wisconsin every five years saw the participation of Anne and Larry and much of the Hobbins-Stuart tribe. Watching her children and grandchildren ski and boat and having dinner at the White Stag Inn in Sugar Camp Lake, were some of Annie’s favorite past times. She was an Olbrich Gardens member and her beautiful home gardens were featured in the Garden Tours. Annie’s Bed and Breakfast was founded in 1985, and flourished under Annie and Larry’s management. Many guests over the decades attest to the tender loving care Annie and Larry offered them. Annie’s health was often shaky in the last decades of her life. Her husband Larry was devoted to her care and a constant presence. Larry honored her wish to live out her days in the house she had designed, surrounded by the sights and sounds of Warner Park. Annie was preceded in her death by her parents; her brother Charles; and her first husband John.Annie is survived by her sisters, Sue, Chris, Connie, and Adele; her husband Larry; her eight children John (Paola Benecchi), James (“Ben”), Joseph, Jean (Kelly) Towne, Jered (Carlos), Todd, Tiffany (Tim), and Tyler (Ellen); and 18 grandchildren. All Faiths Funeral & Cremation Services of Madison is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.866allfaiths.com