Anne Welsh Putney Manson

Anne Welsh Putney Manson passed away unexpectedly on December 7th in her beloved cabin on the Chickahominy River. The daughter of William Kemper Welsh and Frances Bradley Welsh, Anne was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia. Her parents loved to brag that she started walking at nine months and could put together a puzzle of the United States and name every capital by the age of three. The family moved to Richmond when Anne was two and, living in 1950’s Ginter Park, she was surrounded with childhood playmates – many of whom remained lifelong friends. Every evening her father would ring the giant bell he had mounted on their garage roof to send the children scurrying home to supper. Anne attended Saint Paul’s Elementary and Saint Gertrude’s High School where she was a cheerleader. She studied and loved dancing. Anne attended Virginia Tech where she majored in interior architecture and design and graduated in 1975. After graduating, she did a brief stint in interior design at Miller & Rhoads and then joined Marcellus, Wright, Cox and Smith, Architects. She went on to become part of the core team at Rowe Development Company where she was instrumental in the planning of many of the early Innsbrook properties, as well as properties in Newport News and Hampton Roads. In 1986 Anne founded Interior Design Developments and had a loyal following of clients that appreciated her incredible creativity and attention to detail on projects over thirty years of practice. In recent years she and her husband David delighted in managing their Outer Banks cottages at 2FishCay, creating a welcoming experience for guests and their pets that brought many back year after year. Anne was multi-talented in her professional and private life, an avid cook whose friends looked forward to her frequent and creative food gifts, a talented seamstress and carpenter. She was a devoted daughter who lovingly cared for her parents in their later years. Anne is survived by her husband David Manson and his daughter, Mica Manson; her brother, William Kemper Welsh, Jr. his wife, Melissa and their daughters Brooke and Jacqueline; her sister, Rita Louise Walsh and husband Dennis Walsh and their children, Dr. Kristen Mercurio (husband Marc, children Matthew and Abigail), Ryan Walsh (wife Nathania) and Anna Braun (husband Roman, daughter Emma) as well as many loving friends. A celebration of life for family and friends will be planned at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to your local SPCA.

Anne Welsh Putney Manson

October 27, 1953 - December 7, 2022