Anne May Cadigan

Anne Smith Cadigan, who was active in Roman Catholic church affairs, died of cancer of the spine Saturday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson. She was 64 and lived in Ruxton.

Mrs. Cadigan was the granddaughter of Alfred E. Smith, Democratic presidential nominee in 1928 and governor of New York for four terms.

Born in Manhattan and raised in Rye, N.Y., she spent weekends as a child at Mr. Smith's residence on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan across from Central Park Zoo.

He introduced her to such influential people as Cardinal Francis Spellman; James A. Farley, a power in the Democratic Party; and Robert Moses, the legendary public works director who permanently altered the face of Manhattan.

L Mr. Smith also was influential in her spiritual development.

"I think she inherited her faith from him," a son, John A. Cadigan of Cockeysville, said yesterday. "He was very devout, and they always attended Mass together at St. Patrick's Cathedral."

Mrs. Cadigan, a communicant of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Mount Washington, was a volunteer at Mercy Medical Center and belonged to Our Father's Work, a Catholic lay group that organizes religious retreats and promotes better understanding of the Catholic faith.

"She was very proud of her faith and always remained close to the church and God. It really was the purpose of her life," said her daughter, Anne Cadigan Brown of Monkton, who also worked with her mother in Our Father's Work.

Mrs. Cadigan attended St. Vincent's College in Riverdale, N.Y., and settled in Baltimore after her marriage 45 years ago to Richard F. Cadigan, a retired Baltimore lawyer.

Mrs. Cadigan was a lifelong athlete who family members said was more at home in sweat pants or a jogging suit than a dress. She went bass fishing in the Adirondacks, enjoyed ocean swimming, cross-country skiing and tennis. For many years, she bowled with the Visitation Academy-St. David Episcopal Church team.

Until her children moved away and the backyard basketball hoop was removed, she would play spirited games with them.

"She had a wicked hook shot and loved playing with her four sons," said her husband.

She was a member of the Adirondack Council and a past president of the Jesuit Seminary Guild in Baltimore.

New York Gov. George N. Pataki sent a state flag to drape her casket during the Mass of Christian burial that will be offered at 11 a.m. today at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Smith and Greeley avenues.

She also is survived by three other sons, Richard F. Cadigan Jr. of Rye, Charles Smith Cadigan of Kensington and the Rev. Timothy J. Cadigan of Washington; two brothers, the Rev. Arthur F. Smith of Villanova, Pa., and William P. Smith of Southold, N.Y.; and nine grandchildren.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-01-07/news/1998007040_1_cadig...