Ashby Angell, a lifelong Savannah resident, died peacefully surrounded by family on September 4, 2024 at the age of 93.

After attending Pape School and the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY, Ashby graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in music. An avid cook and award-winning gardener, she was a devoted member of Christ Church Savannah and Christ Church Anglican. She sang in the choirs of both churches and served as Eucharist Minister and lay reader. She was civically active in Savannah, including as a long-time member and former president of the Trustees’ Garden Club and president and member of the Junior League of Savannah.

Ashby lived a long and vibrant life, touching many lives over her 93 years. She was a hard worker and showed her love to others through action. Ashby notably expressed her love and care for others through her cooking and gardening and her talents as a host–a potent combination in Savannah and the South. Ashby spent decades cultivating and caring for the gardens and grounds of her Savannah home, fondly named "Beaulieu," her cottage in Linville, North Carolina, and the family farm in Millen, Georgia. All while growing many of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs needed to feed her expanding family and many guests at her legendary table.

If you asked Ashby about her plants, you would discover that she not only knew how to grow a wide variety of plant species, but that she also had extensive botanical knowledge and intimate acquaintance with the phenomenal array of plants in her various gardens. Ashby frequently arrived at choir practice at her church with dirt under her fingernails, having come straight from her garden. She could organize the most beautiful flower arrangements just by taking a few steps out of her front door. She impressed upon her children and grandchildren the importance of always keeping fresh flower arrangements in the house, something she often did before she even took a step inside when arriving at the Linville cottage or the farm. Ashby’s expertise as a gardener earned her a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Garden Club of America in 2022, sponsored by members of the Trustees’ Garden Club.

In addition to her expert gardening, Ashby was a highly regarded cook among her family and friends, a passion that was richly complimented by vegetables and fruit from her gardens. Ashby shared a lot of love through her confections. Her recipe for plain white bread was a staple in the family household. With five boys, Ashby's bread was a hot commodity, especially warm with butter, straight from the oven. She spent time carefully canning and jarring preserves and jams that she often gave to family and friends. She and her food had a way of bringing people together. Although she retired from the kitchen a few years before she passed, her family will dearly miss her amazing culinary skills, with her at the head of the table for family gatherings.

Aside from her skills in the garden and in the kitchen, Ashby also had a true love of adventure and the outdoors. An avid hiker, she loved a picnic with a view and enjoyed skiing with her husband John and her boys. She had a particular fondness for the mountains and trails of Linville, North Carolina and the surrounding area, where she spent time during each of her ninety-three summers. She loved hiking so much that on her honeymoon, she and her husband, John hiked Grandfather Mountain. Park rangers discovered they had not returned to their car after sunset and sent out a search party, fearing the couple might be lost or injured on the mountain. The next morning, the rangers were surprised to find the happy couple enjoying a morning coffee together, home safe in their Linville cottage. They reported having had such a nice time on their hike, they chose to hike the rest of the way home. She and John also traveled widely to exotic locations and experienced exciting adventures, including trips all across Europe, the African continent, and Central and South America.

Ashby was preceded in death in 2016 by her husband, Dr. John Angell, whom she married in 1955. She is survived by their five sons: John, Clayton (Ann), Charles (Ann Marie), Stephen, and Thomas. Additionally, she is survived by nine grandchildren (Frazier, Ashby, Caroline, Cowan, Haigh, Sarina, Carlton, Pitts, Victor) and two great-grandchildren (Maxwell and William). The family would also like to recognize the caring efforts of family members Cathy, Joanna, and Pam whom Ashby loved dearly. It is a wonderful testament to Ashby that her love of gardening, cooking, and the outdoors continues through her children and grandchildren, each of whom can trace their hobbies straight back to their beloved, departed matriarch. Ashby is loved, remembered, and dearly missed by her large immediate and extended family, her church and gardening families, and the wider community.