Shelter Island Reporter obituary: Ann Brunswick
Ann (Finkenberg) Brunswick passed away peacefully at her beloved Shelter Island home on May 19, 2025, after nearly two years in home hospice and just 6 weeks shy of her 99th birthday.
A native of New York City, Ann spent her childhood and young adulthood on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Always an outstanding student, she graduated from Julia Richmond High School, and attended Hunter College, after which she earned an M.A. in Psychology from Clark University in Worcester, Mass, all by age 20.
Restless and not content with the post-war conventional view of women’s roles, Ann was determined to have both a career and a family. She married J. Peter Brunswick in 1950 (from whom she divorced in 1976) and subsequently had two daughters, Debra and Naomi.
Ann’s career began at the National Opinion Research Center where she cultivated her fascination with the field of social research. She then joined the faculty at the Columbia University School of Public Health where more than a decade later, and with a solid reputation in the field, she earned a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences.
Working along side renowned colleagues such as Jack Elinson and Eric Josephson, she went on to pioneer longitudinal survey research methodologies that remain in use today. Among her many professional accomplishments, Ann was most proud of designing and leading the longest running cohort study of Black adolescents in Harlem, spanning more than five decades, for which she gained national recognition, and from which she published several articles and book chapters on the group’s changing health and health behaviors over the life course.
Ann first visited Shelter Island in the late 1970s on the advice of a friend. She was instantly smitten with the natural surroundings, the small town feel, and the local residents. After renting for two seasons, she purchased a lot and built a home in West Neck in 1979, where she spent most summer weekends. Weekends turned into weeks, and in 2010, she became a full-time resident.
A lifelong outspoken Democrat, she was active in the local League of Women Voters chapter, and became a regular at the Perlman summer student concerts. She loved swimming and could often be found at Hay Beach in the late afternoon, completing a New York Times crossword puzzle or engaged in a heated political discussion with a small circle of close friends.
Her July birthday allowed her to share the Island with friends and family at an annual celebration at the Ram’s Head Inn. From the Pharmacy (one of her favorite establishments) to the IGA supermarket, to the EMS, to the town clerk, there were few Islanders who did not recognize her name. And when asked how Ann will be remembered, the response was nearly unanimous: she lived life on her own terms.
Ann is survived by her daughters, Debra B. Levine and Naomi B. Bishop; three grandchildren, Yehoshua Levine, Brian Bishop, and M. Bishop; three great-grandchildren, Mushka, Pessy, and Rivka; and her four dedicated and loving caregivers, Maka, Kelly, Sarah, and Dulce.
A memorial service for friends and family is planned for 2 p.m. on June 26, 2025, at the Riverside Chapel on Amsterdam Avenue and 76th Street in Manhattan. A service on the Island will take place later this summer. In lieu of flowers, please dedicate donations in Ann’s memory to The Nature Conservancy at Mashomack by mailing a check payable to TNC Mashomack to PO Box 850, Shelter Island, NY 11964, or to The Perlman Music Program by mailing a check payable to The Perlman Music Program, 19 West 69th Street, Suite 1101, New York, NY 10023.
