Anne J Fosbre

Anne June Fosbre passed away on March 9, 2026, at Mire Vie Assisted Living in Warren at the age of 94.

Born in Plainfield to the late Tony and Alice (Alexander) DeAngelis, Anne graduated from Plainfield High School in 1949, having met her future husband, Joseph Fosbre, there. Her first two years of high school were spent at Holy Trinity in Westfield. She often recounted with delight how she and her friends Pat and Peggy perfected the art of pocketing their daily train fare by hiding from and playfully tormenting the conductor. She remained connected to both schools, attending reunions throughout her life.

Anne married Joe in 1950. They began their life together in Plainfield before settling in Greenbrook, where they raised their seven children in a lively old house filled with noise, food, fun, and hard work. They instilled that strong work ethic in all their children. The family raised bull mastiffs, bred puppies, and cared for a menagerie of other pets. Anne had a deep love for animals and at various times kept pet goats and a pair of pet sheep.

A gifted cook and baker, Anne delighted in entertaining. Her kitchen was a warm gathering place for friends, neighbors, and family, always offering a fresh pot of coffee and lively conversation. She seized any opportunity for a celebration, whether a ladies’ club luncheon, cookie exchange, or impromptu gathering, and ensured no birthday passed without a homemade favorite pie, cake, or special doll cake. She embraced every holiday with enthusiasm, hosting large Thanksgiving dinners, Halloween costume parties, and memorable Christmases. Their Greenbrook home and yard also welcomed the TWIGS annual Strandberg Festival to benefit the local hospital.

Together with Joe, Anne enjoyed a rich social life through Cotillion, Cork and Fork, and the Green Brook Swim Club. Their New Year’s Day breakfast became a beloved tradition for more than forty years in every home they shared. The couple loved garage sales, auctions, and collecting antiques, and Anne was always ready for a trip to the casino. Her many interests led her to join garden, investment, and poker clubs. She cherished bus trips to New York for shopping, lunch, theater, and people-watching, and she created special solo birthday trips to the city with each of her grandchildren, whom she adored as “Mame.” Anne and Joe traveled widely, with England remaining a favorite destination.

A proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Italian American Club, Anne particularly enjoyed competing in bocce. She worked as a real estate agent for more than forty years. With her talent for spotting good deals and fixer-uppers, and Joe’s renovation skills, she and her family flipped houses for resale or rental long before the practice had a name. Their most ambitious project came in the 1980s when they transformed an old Readington cow barn into a family home. In 1992, as empty nesters, they converted it into the Holly Thorne House, a successful bed-and-breakfast that Anne operated until 2007. The couple later lived in Stockton and then White House Station.

Above all, Anne will be remembered as a beautiful woman inside and out, with a wonderful sense of color and style. She carried herself with elegance and poise and took great pride in her family and her home.

She was predeceased by her loving husband, Joe Fosbre; her son, Henry Fosbre; her daughters-in-law, Susan Fosbre and Debbie Velard; and her sister, Carol Lee Kolfenbach.

Anne is survived by her loving children, Joanne Hendershot and her husband Richard, Jeffrey Fosbre, Nancy Fosbre, Kimberly Fosbre and her wife Holly Poglase, Peter Fosbre, and Jane Trojanowski and her husband Frank. She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren, Tara Fosbre and Brian Fosbre and his wife Rebecca; her adored great-grandchildren, Finnegan, Phoebe, and Ophelia; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends.