Robbinsville resident Anne Woodrick hugs her dog Riggins in 2014. After an 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Woodrick died Oct. 25, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Annie Condit Photography.)
By Nicole DeMentri
To describe Anne Woodrick in a couple of words would be nearly impossible. She was a teacher, coach, runner, painter, a beloved mother, aunt and sister.
A Pond Road Middle School fifth grade teacher and a longtime resident of Robbinsville, Woodrick died Oct. 25 after an 18-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 60.
But ask any of the people who Woodrick interacted with during her time in Robbinsville, and they’re sure to agree Woodrick had one trait that stood out above the rest.
“The only way I could describe Anne would be to say she was a hurricane of energy…a beautiful hurricane, just full of life,” Pond Road teacher Katie Gildea said. “She just had a passion that was unmatched. You couldn’t help but be affected by it.”
Gildea met Woodrick during her first year of teaching at Pond in 2007. Although Gildea was younger than Woodrick, she said that their age never got in the way. The two bonded over running.
“I always say that we’ve seen each other at our worst and best,” Gildea said. “With running, I literally have forged thousands of miles with Anne whether through neon clothes at midnight or snow pants during a snowstorm. We used to joke that we would write a book about the secret lives of teachers because people would never believe what we did.”
Their bond grew incredibly close. Gildea said that Woodrick became a second mom to her and eventually the godmother of Gildea’s youngest son. In the Gildea household, Woodrick was known as “Auntie E E” and always came through the house with a huge smile and pure joy.
Carol Hotchkiss also was a colleague of Woodrick’s. They met when Woodrick was student-teaching at Pond Road, after a career change. Hotchkiss and Woodrick also had children the same age that were in the same classes, so they became friends.
When Anne was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she didn’t want to stop teaching. Hotchkiss knew that Woodrick didn’t want to just stop everything and decided to invite her to work with the children in her classes.
“I knew she wasn’t going to give up on anything, so I think her helping with my class really gave her a reason to come to school,” Hotchkiss said.
Hotchkiss added that Woodrick’s gift for finding the kid that needed “TLC” never stopped, even when she was sick. Hotchkiss called it her sixth sense.
And that sixth sense held true for Class of 2014 graduate Alexia Guiducci and her twin brother Alessandro. In 2005, the Guiducci family moved to Robbinsville without knowing anyone. Alexia and her brother started the fifth grade at Pond miserable. But that all changed when Woodrick noticed just how out of place Alessandro felt and reached out to ask Alexia if she wanted to transfer into her class.
“She made me feel so welcomed at school and tried her best every day to make sure I wasn’t upset,” Guiducci said. “Even after 5th grade, she still made the effort to check up on me, always offered me painting lessons, and was just overall an amazing woman.”
Laura Mangone saw Woodrick outside of Pond Road walls. They were best friends for many years.
“I think I had the unique privilege seeing Anne relaxed,” Mangone said. “She was also on the go literally with running, and I got to see her just sit down and relax. Anne had this exuberant, sweet adrenaline running through her veins.”
Not only was Woodrick a teacher, but she was a mother to three children and loved them unconditionally, Mangone said. Throughout her treatments, her son Ryan and her daughters, Kelly and Mollie, tried to go to every chemo with her, so that she wasn’t alone and had support.
During treatments, she always went in with a huge smile across her face and never once complained.
“She wasn’t going to let cancer get in the way of how she was going to live life,” Mangone said.
Both Mangone and long-time friend Rose McGlew said of Woodrick’s many loves, her passion for Post-It notes was one of the more unique ones.
“And her notes! Notes for the day’s activities, notes for ‘what needs to be done this week,’ notes for other people’s stuff, notes for her notes!” Mangone said.
McGlew added, “I have never seen anyone love Post-Its as much as Anne. There were notes in her class novels, notes in her gradebook, notes on her calendar, notes in and on her personal notebook, always reminding her of things to do or things to tell other people to do.”
McGlew started a support group at Pond, called Annie’s Allies, that is still raising money for a memorial scholarship fund in Woodrick’s name.
Whether it was for her Post-It notes or her students or her dog Riggins, Woodrick approached everything in her life with verve, passion and a constant smile. It is because of that energy that—although she will be missed—Woodrick’s legacy will live on.
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