Anne VandeGrift Barker died Thursday, June 5, 2025, surrounded by her loving family in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. She was 84.
The daughter of Dr. William B. VandeGrift, a pathologist, and Dorothy B. VandeGrift, a nurse, Anne was born on February 10, 1941, in Baltimore, and where she attended Calvert School as a young girl. She graduated from the Bryn Mawr School in 1959 and received her Bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in 1974, after previously attending Wells College and Goucher College.
In 1962, Anne married George P. Barker, her high school sweetheart, who had attended the Gilman School. Anne and George, a lawyer, lived in Ft. Hood, Texas, New York City, and Boston, before settling in the “new city” of Columbia, Maryland, in 1972 when George accepted a position in the Legal Department of The Rouse Company.
In 1991, following in the footsteps of her mother, she enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, earning a Bachelor of Science in nursing. She worked as a floor nurse for the Johns Hopkins Hospital and then directed a public health study on the incidence of high blood pressure in Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.
Anne and George lived on the shore of Wilde Lake in Columbia around the corner from the home occupied by James Rouse, the visionary developer of Columbia. They were both active in the Howard County community where Anne served as the health director of the Health Alliance, a clinic for low-income individuals with chronic diseases, retiring in 2006.
Anne and George were also active philanthropists and supporters of the Community Foundation of Howard County. The couple opened an unrestricted, endowed fund at the Foundation in 1988 to provide a permanent stream of revenue to support Howard County nonprofits through the annual open community grant process. Then in 2007, the couple created a donor-advised fund that allowed them to easily support the many causes and organizations that meant the most to them in Howard County and beyond.
“I will miss seeing Anne Barker around Wilde Lake and assisting her philanthropy,” said Jay Vidyarthi, vice president of operations at the Community Foundation of Howard County and fellow Wilde Lake resident. “She believed that giving wasn’t just about generosity — it was about impact. By choosing CFHoCo as her philanthropic partner, she entrusted us with more than her resources; she entrusted us with her vision. Her legacy is a testament to the power of partnership rooted in trust and shared values.”
In 2018, following the death of George in 2016, Anne reconnected with the couple’s long-time friend, Ralph Johanson, a retired lawyer in Washington, D.C. Together, they built a loving partnership and relocated from Columbia to Bryn Mawr to be closer to family.
In addition to Mr. Johanson, Anne is survived by two daughters, Kate Barker Swindell (Chris) of Boston and Maggie Barker Taylor (Jesse) of Gladwyne, Penn., one son, Van Barker, of San Diego; and six grandchildren – Sam and Will Swindell; Austin and Millie Barker; and Betsy and George Taylor.
Donations in Ms. Barker’s honor may be made to the Community Foundation of Howard County and the Alzheimer’s Association. Services are private.