Peterborough, NH – Ann Day, age 97, passed away peacefully on October 11, 2026, in Peterborough, New Hampshire, surrounded by her granddaughters, Ruby and Emma and the loving presence of her family. Born at 6:00 AM in Boston on July 1, 1929, Ann’s arrival was marked by a sunrise shining through the hospital skylight, a moment her father frequently recalled as the best day of his life. This dawn arrival shaped her life; throughout her 97 years, Ann greeted the sunrise at 5:00 AM every single day, carrying a lifelong appreciation for the early morning hours and the great outdoors.
The oldest of five sisters, Ann spent her youth in Concord and Wayland, Massachusetts. Raised with an adventurous and fiercely independent spirit, she preferred the outdoors to playing with dolls, routinely sliding down the grand banisters of her childhood home or riding horses by the age of three. Ann attended Colby Junior College in New Hampshire. Driven by her passion for sports, she earned the rare distinction of playing as an early “pro” field hockey player for a Boston club competing across the Northeast. She balanced this with another remarkable feat: becoming a U.S. Certified Ski Instructor at a time when only 90 existed in the entire country.
In 1957, Ann and her late husband, Frank Day, embarked on a 50-year legacy by purchasing Knoll Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont. Together, they transformed the historic property into a sustainable working farm and country inn. For decades, Ann ran the inn with her signature hospitality, managing the land where they raised Highland cattle and kept many horses, often taking guests out on trail rides. It was also here that Ann raised her two children, Deb and Alan, instilling in them a deep love of the outdoors and the natural world. In 1982 Ann transitioned Knoll Farm into one of Vermont’s first land conservation easements; it is now a center for community, peace, and environmental justice.
Ann was a devoted creative spirit. As a prolific nature writer, poet, and photographer, she captured the changing seasons around her. She was The Valley Reporter’s longest-running columnist, crafting her weekly column, “The Nature of Things,” from the late 1970s until 2020. She coupled her writing with an incredible archive of photographs, capturing thousands of images of the natural world.
Ann’s fierce independence, goofy humor, and generosity will be carried on by her family. She is survived by her daughter, Deb Barnes, and four grandchildren: Megan and Haven Barnes, Emma and Ruby DayBranch, and her great-grandchildren Reece and Jodi Leitz. She also leaves behind her surviving sisters, Faith and Becky. She was greeted in the beyond by her parents, Alan and Mary, her son, Alan, her late husbands, Frank and Bill, and her sisters, Margot and Alice.
A private family gathering will celebrate her life. In honor of Ann, her family invites you to wake up early, watch a morning sunrise, and embrace the day with an adventurous spirit.
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