Obituary

Photo By Christopher Little

Anne Longworth Garrels, 71, died on Sept. 7 at her home in Norfolk following a long battle with lung cancer. An intrepid and accomplished journalist for 45 years, Anne became a familiar and valued presence on National Public Radio as she reported from war zones in Chechnya, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and other parts of the Middle East, as well as from Russia for many years. Her voice, broadcasting from the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad during the U.S. bombing campaign, brought the reality and horrors of that conflict into sharp focus. Driven to tell the stories of ordinary people living through war, she had an extraordinary ability to connect with those she interviewed. 

Long married to Vint Lawrence, they made Norfolk their permanent home in the late 1990s. While work often carried her abroad, Anne was deeply attached to Norfolk: gardening with Vint, welcoming visitors, filling the house with flowers. A quick study, she took both EMR and EMT training, going on runs with the ambulance until her assignments made it difficult for her to stick to a regular schedule. Many years ago, she and Vint did a reading in Norfolk of A.R. Gurney’s play  “Love Letters.” In 2018, she arranged for a performance of readings and music, “From War to Here,” which she put together and presented with Neal Conan, her colleague from NPR, and the Ensemble Galilei. The piece highlighted the often-difficult path back from war for both veterans and journalists. 

Earlier this year, Anne wanted desperately to go to Ukraine to cover the Russian invasion but was physically unable to do so. Instead, together with an old friend, Art Davidson, she started the nonprofit organization Assist-Ukraine.org, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical supplies, technical equipment, body armor and more. Anne and her brother, John Garrels, also of Norfolk, were strong supporters of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, sponsoring four Norfolk Fellows since 2020.

She is survived by her brother, John; sister, Molly Brendel; stepdaughters, Rebecca Lawrence and Gabrielle Strand; and additional extended family. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 11 a.m. at the Church of Christ Congregational with a reception to follow. Donations in Anne’s memory can be made to Assist-Ukraine.org or the Committee to Protect Journalists, cpj.org, on whose board she served for 10 years, resigning only last month.

Those unable to attend the memorial service in person can participate via these links: https://youtu.be/xUsE6ljzFrM or https://www.facebook.com/NorfolkUCC.