Anna Merenda Darden, 79, of Chapel Hill, N.C. died early May 29, 2010 after a long battle with cancer.
Anna was born in Salemville, Pa., the youngest of 11 children. She left Pennsylvania at age 18 and went to work in Baltimore, where she met her future husband, Thomas H. Darden. In the early 1950s, they settled in Chapel Hill, where she raised a family and lived the rest of her life.
Anna had a strong fashion and design sense. For many years, she was involved in the retail clothing business and in the 1970s owned a small specialty women’s clothing store in Durham.
She had a great love of cooking and entertaining and was always happy to share that passion with close friends and family. She loved to travel and later in life took a special interest in learning more about her immigrant parents and their roots in Sicily.
Most important to Anna was her family, and especially her grandchildren. She is survived by a sister, Jenny Mazzoni, of New Alexandria, Pa.; a brother, Joseph Merenda, of Phoenix, Ariz.; a daughter, Gail Darden Burchfiel of Raleigh, N.C., and her husband, David Burchfiel; a son, Greg Darden of Pittsboro, N.C., and his wife, Cynthia Darden; and her two grandsons, Sean Gregory Darden and Evan Thomas Darden.
The family would like to express their warmest thanks and appreciation to the UNC and Alamance hospice nurses and nursing assistants, whose kindness and compassion supported Anna and the family throughout her illness.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to UNC Hospice or Alamance Hospice House in Burlington, N.C. Walker’s Funeral Home of Chapel Hill is handling the arrangements for the Darden family.