Remembering Anne Teller, ‘an altogether mighty woman’

Anne Perrin Teller died of cancer at her home in Glen Ellen on May 27, with her family at her side.

Anne was born June 26, 1931, in San Francisco and raised in Palo Alto. She attended Palo Alto High School, Smith College and U.C. Berkeley.

Anne married William N. Bucklin III and they raised their family of four children in San Francisco, as well as an ark of animals: dogs, chickens, parrot, owls, reptiles, cats, horses, and one stray vulture. She was a sought-after landscape designer, an accomplished tennis player, and enjoyed a brimming social life replete with convivial dinner parties and the company of many close friends. Anne was a notable cook with abundant technique, efficiency, and a natural talent for combining flavors. Her favorite ingredients came from her own gardens.

Splitting time between San Francisco and her family’s rugged land overlooking the Sonoma Valley, Anne enjoyed the diversity of all that life offered – weekdays in the city, weekends on the mountain with her family, horses, and semi-feral children.

In 1976 after Anne’s first marriage dissolved, she was introduced to a widower named Otto Teller, and their love story developed over a mutual interest in bees, organic agriculture, good food, conservation, wildlife, and dogs. They married, and Anne moved to Oak Hill Farm in Glen Ellen. Anne believed agriculture was a noble enterprise. She was an early adopter of organic, local, sustainable farming. Anne’s business selling produce grew over the next four decades, cultivating 50 acres and producing over 200 varieties of flowers, fruit and vegetables sold all over the Bay Area.

Otto passed away in 1998 and in 2004 Anne married Norman Scott. She was widowed again in 2008.

Anne was a founding member of the Sonoma Land Trust, co-founder of the Teller Wildlife Refuge in Montana, and always a strong supporter of environmental causes. She worked to protect the natural world, establish wildlife corridors, and preserve open space and parkland. Anne was a no-nonsense environmentalist – a re-user of everything from plastic bags to old toothbrushes. She was an active member of the Glen Ellen Historical Society as well as her local book club. Anne was small in stature, but an altogether mighty woman. She ruled her universe right up until the end. She was loved and admired by many for her deep intelligence, wit and infectious laugh.

Anne Teller leaves behind her four children: Edward Bucklin (Wendy Westerbeke), Arden Bucklin-Sporer (Karl Sporer), Katherine Bucklin (Tom Hegardt) and William Bucklin (Lizanne Pastore) as well as five grandchildren: Oliver and Melissa Bucklin, Sam, Jack and August Sporer, and two great grandsons, Jade River and Bodhi Burdock Good.

Anne was a venerable and knowledgeable farmer and land steward. She leaves a great hole in both the environmental community of the Sonoma Valley and in our hearts. Donations in Anne’s name may be made to the Teller Wildlife Refuge and the Sonoma Land Trust.

— with thanks to The Kenwood Press

Photo by Scott Hess Photography