Ann Parnie Frobose
Aug. 9, 1936-Sept. 25, 2023
Pleasanton, CA

Ann Frobose, a devoted follower of Jesus, went home to her Lord Sept. 25, 2023. She was 87.

Ann’s lifelong love of learning was wide ranging. One expression of this was her extensive and deep study of Christian literature. Her sister, Pat Wahlen, said “She had a strong sense of God and Jesus and knew more about the Bible than anyone I knew.” Ann taught children’s Bible School for many years and led many Bible studies.

She was a valued member in a variety of groups and communities. She maintained a lifelong bond with a group of classmates from Middlebury College. For years she and Rich participated in an Ignatian Companions group in Berkeley that focused on Catholic studies and community service. Ann’s passing will leave a hole in these and many other groups.

Ann was a natural life coach. Her wisdom, kindness and love of people blessed those in her presence even when she was going through difficult times of her own.

The eldest daughter of Elaine Helmer and Alexander David Parnie, Ann was born in Detroit and grew up in the suburb of Birmingham. Her dad routinely took the family on spring and summer road trips to see the United States.

After graduating from Birmingham High School, she moved to Vermont to attend Middlebury College. She earned a degree in English Literature in 1958 and married Philip Ormsbee that year. They had two children and divorced after twenty-five years.

Ann had never worked out of the home in her married life, except in retail and light administrative positions, so she trained and started working as a paralegal. It was not a good fit so she shifted to teaching and earned a teacher’s certificate at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. She was employed by the Mt. Diablo Unified School District as a special education teacher for seventh graders. Ann had found her calling.

She met Richard Frobose and they were married in October 2000. She had deep roots in the Catholic faith but decided to attend the Presbyterian Church with her husband. There she was elected as an elder. After finishing that service, she returned to the Catholic Church and remained an active member of St. Augustine’s parish in Pleasanton.

She is survived by her second husband, Richard Frobose of Pleasanton, her sister Pat Wahlen of San Diego; her son George Ormsbee and wife, Missy, of Sisters, Oregon, her daughter Mary Church and husband, Daniel, of Willits, CA, and her step-daughter Carisa Smitham and husband, Andrew, of Palos Verdes Estates, CA, and grandchildren Bridget, Sean, Skye, Drew, and Summer. She is predeceased by her brother, David Parnie.

Tags: teacher/educator