Annamae Joanne Beckmann Grossman, 77, Nurse, Dies

Annamae Joanne Beckmann Grossman, 77, of Newtown, a retired nurse who was married to Dr. Robert S. Grossman for 54 years, died after a long illness on October 30, 2011 during the Northeast blizzard with her husband at her side.

A graduate of Jamaica Vocational High School and Mount Sinai Hospital School of Nursing where she earned a registered nurse degree, Grossman initially worked as a nurse in the operating room of Long Island Jewish Hospital where she met her husband.

The Grossmans moved to Newtown where they raised three children with love and devotion. A fourth child, Kenneth, died shortly after birth. When the children finished high school, Annamae Grossman went to work at Danbury Hospital as an infection control nurse, for many years, until retirement. 

Born April 10, 1934 in Brooklyn, N.Y., she was the daughter of John M. Beckmann and Loretta (Pilichowski) Beckmann.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by three children, John Grossman and wife Sonia, David Grossman, and Amy Katriel and husband Ron; a sister, Maryann Eichin; four granddaughters Melissa Rockafellow and husband Scott, Lisa Grossman and fiancée Joe Coates, and Elizabeth and Katherine Katriel; two great-grandchildren Jacob and Emma Rockafellow and several nieces and nephews.

She also is survived by sister-in-law Ruth Karter and brother-in-law Frank Giarraputo, and predeceased by two sisters Loretta Giarraputo and Henrietta Skidd.

Grossman recently was able to trace one branch of her family tree to Germany from the 1400s.  

No matter how ill she was, there was always a gift for her great grandchildren, just as she had always done for her granddaughters every time they visited her. 

Grossman was a devoted and loving wife and her favorite hobby was cooking gourmet meals, which the entire family looked forward to. She was the consummate homemaker and continued to take care of everything until illness forced her to cut back.

In addition to cooking, she was excellent at knitting, crocheting, embroidery and quilting, as well as an accomplished horseback rider. She also loved reading, particularly mysteries. She was a collector of elephants and had over 100 on the fireplace mantel.

She had a good sense of humor and was always welcome at social gatherings. Grossman was very adept at expressing her opinions in political discussions. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her. 

Despite the effect of her illness, she did not complain and performed her normal activities as long as she could. She died with her husband at her side.

Friends may call at the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main St., Newtown Thursday morning Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Rose of Lima Church at 1 p.m., Thursday. Interment will follow in Newtown Village Cemetery.

Flowers are acceptable, or donations may be made in Grossman's memory to the Mount Sinai School of Nursing Alumni Association, One Gustave Levy Place, Box 1143, New York, NY 10029-6574, or to Danbury Hospital Development Fund, or to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312.