Anne Sophie Braestrup Richmond

CAPE ELIZABETH – Anne Sophie Braestrup Richmond died at home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on Nov. 14, 2024, after a brief illness. She was born on July 4, 1936 in Knoxville, Tenn. to Danish parents Johan Cosmus Braestrup and Else Jorgsholm Braestrup.

She grew up in Scarsdale, NY, graduating from Scarsdale High School in 1954 where she was voted “Most Respected” in her class. She was a talented artist, and took art lessons for many years from the well-known artist Harold Walcott. Following her graduation from Wellesley College in 1958, Anne married Peter Herbert Richmond. Together, they had three daughters, twins Catherine and Karen, and Jeanette.

For her children’s early years, Anne was a stay-at-home mother in Birmingham, Mich. In the early 1970s the family moved to New Hampshire and Anne began working as a teacher’s aide and art teacher. In the mid-1970s, Anne returned to school to obtain her law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now Franklin Pierce School of Law, University of New Hampshire). After graduating and passing the NH bar exam in 1978, Anne became a staff attorney at the New Hampshire Education Association. In 1983, she became a legal officer at the Board of Tax and Land Appeals in Concord, NH, and later served as chairman. In 1990, Anne worked as Director of the Appellate Division of the Maine Bureau of Taxation, where she led the division until her retirement.

Anne and Peter divorced in 1979. In the early 1980s Anne met Alvin S. Weinstein, a professor of engineering at Carnegie-Mellon University and a products liability specialist who also wanted to be a lawyer. They met when Al was attending a Board meeting at the Franklin Pierce Law Center, where Anne was serving on the Board. Al noticed Anne and carefully rearranged the seating so that the two of them were seated next to each other. They married in 1988 and were together until his too-early death in August 2008. They lived in Concord, NH, Phippsburg, Maine, Delray Beach, Fla., and Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Survivors include Anne’s daughters, Karen Richmond of Cambridge, Mass., Catherine Richmond McCullough (David McCullough) of Norwich, Vt., and Jeanette Camara Richmond of Bethesda, Md.; Al’s children Ruth Weinstein Sherman (Steven Sherman) of Houston, Texas, Sandra Weinstein Abramson of Minneapolis, Minn., and Marc S. Weinstein of Dublin, Calif.; grandchildren Benjamin Eli Abramson (Eden Abramson), Joseph Hayim Abramson (Dana Glazer), Piper Abramson, Danielle Nicole Weinstein, Alexa Michelle Weinstein, Erik Holm Fulton, Kalé Camara, and Anna Marie Camara; great-grandchildren Eliza Lynn Fulton and Alexander Holm Fulton; and siblings, Elise Braestrup Wellington of West Boylston, Mass. and John Cosmus Braestrup (Justie Braestrup) of Portland, Ore., and their families.

Anne was predeceased by her husband Alvin Seymour Weinstein; her grandson Christopher Bryant Fulton; and her brother-in-law, Roger Underwood Wellington, Jr.

In addition to painting and drawing, Anne loved both downhill and Nordic skiing, bicycling, hiking, and travel. Her home was filled with beautiful artworks of her own creation.

A celebration of Anne’s life will be held at the Saltwater Grille, 231 Front Street, South Portland on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The family is grateful to the staff at Mercy Hospital who cared for Anne prior to her return home to hospice care, everyone at Northern Light Hospice, and Anne’s home caregiver, Tracy Lane, of Coastal Care Solutions, for enabling Anne to be comfortably at home during her final days, which was her wish. Anne’s neighbors at Wildwood also have the family’s gratitude for the love and support they gave Anne that enabled her to live independently

In lieu of flowers,

please consider making a donation to:

Wellesley College at https://www.wellesley.edu/giving or to:

Friends of Seguin Island at https://seguinisland.org/support/donate