Ann Bryan Pearle's Obituary
Ann Bryan Pearle passed away on December 21, 2015 at the age of 92. Ann was born in 1923 in North China to medical missionary parents. She attended boarding school in the beautiful port city of Chefoo in Shantung Province. After graduating with honors from high school, she came to America and entered Baylor University in Texas. There she received a degree in Art, and after graduate study at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, she returned to Baylor to teach Graphics and Art History. After two years, Ann entered the field of graphic design and illustration, spending five years as Art Director of Neiman Marcus in Dallas, where she received several Awards of Distinctive Merit as well as the New York Art Director’s Gold Medal Award for Design. Ann retired from Neiman Marcus to bring up her two sons and at this time the family moved to New York City. Upon returning to Dallas, Ann resumed her career as a freelance graphic artist and illustrator, designing greeting cards for The Drawing Board and working for many years as a fashion illustrator for Lester Melnick, among other artistic endeavors. But her true passion was painting, and for decades she expressed her fascination with the world through her artwork. Many of her pieces hang in offices and private homes. The homes of her children and other relatives and friends are joyously decorated with her paintings. Ann was a beautiful person who cared deeply about her friends and family, showing her love to them in countless, selfless ways. Her greatest happiness was when she was doing something for a loved one, whether it be making her grandson a hot cup of tea with milk and sugar, or sending a funny card to a son that was going through a rough patch, or talking for hours on the phone with her nieces, who were like the daughters she didn’t have. Her loss will leave an emptiness in the lives of the people who loved her that will never be filled. She will be missed terribly. Ann is survived by her son Michael Pearle and his wife Mari, her son Eric Pearle and his wife Sandy; her grandchildren Dakota Pearle, Payton, Kevin and Cameron Kerr, and Mikey and Nicole Pearle; her sister Sarah Erwin and her brother-in-law James Erwin; her niece Elaine Shaw and her husband Guy Shaw; her niece Sally Wilgus and her husband Ken Wilgus; her nieces Roberta Pearle, Margaret Pearle, Phyllis Pearle, Jackie Pearle, Allison Wolfe, Laura Bryan, and Erin Bryan; and her nephews James Elaine, Gary Pearle, David Pearle, Jimmy Pearle, John Bryan, and William Bryan. Service will be held on Sunday, December 27, 2015 at 3:00 PM at the Restland Wildwood Chapel.
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