Anne "Annie" Stinchfield

Anne Stinchfield, known to all as Annie, passed away on Friday, August 28, 2026 after a long battle with esophageal cancer. She was 73.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1953, Annie was the daughter of Roger and Betty Stinchfield and sister of Mark Stinchfield. She is survived by her sister, Linda Stinchfield, currently of Benicia, California. Annie was a resident of Reading for most of her life. Friends and family were the most important things in Annie’s life, and she leaves many, many wonderful friends, some dating back all the way to second grade!

In the summer of 1961, Roger Stinchfield was sent on an engineering contract to Athens, Greece. As family lore tells it, Betty insisted that the whole family be included, since Roger was the only one who didn’t want to travel! For several months, Betty and three little red-headed Stinchfield children explored Athens, made Greek friends, ate extremely well, got sunburned, and swam almost daily in the sea at Vouliagmeni Beach. At the age of eight, Annie, with her bright red curls, was much cooed over by our Greek hosts who called her koukla (κούκλα), meaning doll.

Annie was educated in the Reading School System and graduated in 1971 from Reading Memorial High School. After high school, Annie attended Nasson College in Springvale, Maine, followed by travel with a friend across Northern Africa, the Middle East, India, and finally up into Afghanistan. She liked to say that she had stayed in a “Holiday Inn” in Kabul. Over the years she visited Nepal, Mexico, Italy, and Greece again. But after the excitement of youthful travel, she settled down to life in the community with her family and friends.

In Reading, Annie worked for many years alongside Betty at Betty’s Thrift Shop on Linden Street. She joked that she did all the hard work, leaving Betty free to do what she did best: talk to the customers and make everyone feel special. They had that in common!

Beyond Reading, Annie loved her family’s lake house in Maine on Bunganut Pond. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, spotting loons, and, one winter, putting fish heads out on the ice to attract the resident bald eagle. As with every aspect of her life, Annie leaves behind loved relatives and dear friends in Maine.

Besides her family and friends, Annie had two great enthusiasms— the Dalai Lama and the Grateful Dead. I like to think that together they sum up Annie’s philosophy of life: compassion, joy, and community.

For the last several years of her life, Annie was undergoing chemotherapy, so her life was constrained and often physically uncomfortable. But she drew her home on Prescott Street around herself like a glove, sitting on the side porch in good weather and the parlor in poor weather. She liked to read and watch television, but mostly she loved to talk— even when talking had become difficult— to friends and relatives, doing what she did best: making everyone feel special!

Funeral Services for Annie will be held privately.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be made to support the Gastric and Esophageal Cancer Research Fund - GR0234806 at the MGB Cancer Institute. Checks can be made payable to Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute with “In memory of Anne Stinchfield” in the memo line and sent to Mass General Hospital, Development Office, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 540, Boston MA, 02114 or visit giving.massgeneral.org to make your gift online.

For more information, www.facebook.com/BarileFamilyFuneralHome