July 22, 2019 – “Ann was so generous,” said Angela Lennox-Kay, one of Ann’s longtime friends. “We miss her terribly.”
When Ann Hardy passed away in 2017 at the age of 87, Morris Animal Foundation lost one of its most passionate donors. Ann supported the Foundation for more than 20 years and, as a Lamplighter, made sure she left a legacy to continue to improve feline health by including the Foundation in her estate plans.
Ann was born in 1929 in New York City. For many years, she pursued her passion for genealogy and gave her time to volunteer with cancer patients. Later, she became the caregiver for her parents.
Ann’s kindness and generosity were legendary. Friends recall her inviting them to her home for the weekend, where she would prepare lavish meals and provide a rest from the hustle and bustle of the work week.
Ann devoted considerable energy to many charities and causes, especially those involved in bettering the life of the cats she loved. She was especially concerned about feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a fatal disease that had taken the lives of some of her cats.
Ann’s losses fueled her desire to find a cure for FIP and, near the end of her long life, Ann made a transformational donation to the Foundation that established the basis for our 2015 FIP initiative. Ann lived long enough to see some of the fruits of her donation, including the first drug that slowed the disease and gave cats long-term remission.
We remember Ann for her fierce devotion to cats, her whip-smart intellect and her generosity. Her legacy lives on in the many FIP research projects the Foundation supports and in the many cats that have benefited from her generous contributions to feline studies of all kinds.
