Anna Maude “Ann” (Nesmith) VanDyke, age 97, passed away on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at her residence in Winchester, Virginia.

Mrs. VanDyke was born on December 19, 1928, in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, the daughter of the late Solon T. Nesmith and Rosa P. (Smith) Nesmith. She was a devoted homemaker throughout her life and a faithful member of Skipwith United Methodist Church in Richmond, Virginia.
Ann was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Donald Dailey VanDyke (PopPop), whom she married on September 13, 1952, in Norfolk, Virginia, and who passed away on October 8, 2020. She was also preceded in death by her heavenly daughter who never drew breath, Nancy Dawn VanDyke; her sisters, Edith Mae Benton, Mildred Grant, Hazel Garrison, Sally Maree, and Bertha “Tootsie” Klaus; and her brothers, Marvin Nesmith, Clifton Nesmith, and Everette Nesmith.

This South Carolina sweetheart moved to Norfolk, Virginia where she met the love of her life. She was the USO girl of the week where she volunteered at the YMCA when a dashing sailor from Ohio sauntered down the steps wearing a trench coat with the collar popped up. He asked her to dance, and they never stopped. They are the stuff of legends.

Ann was able to see the wonder and goodness in anyone in front of her. Described as “incapable of being unreceptive, unappreciative or unkind to anyone she met,” Ann often gushed over others exclaiming, “There’re just not enough adjectives!” She bragged unapologetically about her grandchildren who called her GanGan. She was the iconic grandmother that aspiring grandmothers sought to emulate.

She had an uncanny ability for remembering everyone’s favorite food and making strangers feel like family. Her love of desserts is unsurpassed (“There’s no such thing as too sweet.”). She ate ice cream multiple times a day throughout her nineties.

Frequently complimented for her appearance even in advancing age, Ann was a stunning balance of fashionable, fully accessorized, and thrift store frugal.

Her catch phrases are often quoted by friends and family as alternatives to profanity (“Shooty pooh” or PopPop’s favorite, “Dog bite it!”)

She denied or demurred when pressed about her practical jokes, but her nurses, friends and daughter have tales to tell about her antics. She put the Gan in shenanigans.

During her fifty years in Richmond she joyfully fed the unhoused, tirelessly cared for the sick and enthusiastically championed young people through her church. Even in recent years she would ask to be taken to the health center building to visit with the “old folks” who were now her junior, and she was as proud as a grandparent of every young student she met from Shenandoah University.

Her Christian faith was simple and unflinching. Her nightly litany of bedtime prayers named family members by the dozens. Her often repeated unwavering faith claim was, “God never failed me yet, and He or She is not going to start now.”

Unforgettable; that’s what she was. “Many women have done wonderful things, but you have outclassed them all.” – Proverbs 31

Gan is survived by her loving daughter, Rhonda Ann VanDyke (David Dent); her grandchildren, Anna VanDyke Colby, Drew VanDyke Colby (Allison Burgess Colby), and Austin VanDyke Colby (Caroline Bowman); and her cherished great-grandchildren, Isaac Dailey Barone, Lincoln James Barone, Hannah Marie Colby, Miriam Helen Colby, and Joshua Jun Colby. She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, and children and grandchildren of the heart too many to name.

The service was cancelled and will be held at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to establish The Don and Ann VanDyke Scholarship for Jazz Studies at
Shenandoah University
c/o Office of Advancement
1460 University Drive
Winchester, VA 22601
https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/donor-form?svcid=renxt&formId=75322a5a-63bc-42de-a488-9e78d7bb8051&envid=p-EmdyHaHswUmDsKuIlGtrEA&zone=usa