Ann McKechnie, a 34-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away June 30 at St. John’s Medical Center, surrounded by loving friends, family, soul mate Dr. Steven Lattimore and Roberta Smith, her doctor in the Palisades for 13 years. Ann died at the age of 62 after a six-month fight with brain cancer. Born Reece Ann Bridges on a farm in Dayton, Kentucky, Ann moved with her mother to California at the age of 2. She grew up near the Sunset Strip and attended Fairfax High, where she was prom queen and captain of the cheerleading squad. As a young woman she was a go-go dancer and a member of the L.A. City Ballet. She majored in English at UCLA, taught literature and grammar in junior high and high school, and worked for 10 years in public relations. Ann was the head librarian at Santa Monica High School before retiring in 2005, when she and Lattimore moved to Santa Paula. She was a world traveler (she visited over 100 countries) and a writer. She also gave to numerous charities for animals and owned many dogs and cats. She found two of her dogs at the Sunday adoption venue on Swarthmore. “Ann was a remarkable person,” said her friend Linda Schilcher, of Pacific Palisades. “She loved to travel, even teaching in Afghanistan for two years. She was also an active hiker with the Sierra Club, participating for years in the Friday night hikes on Paseo Miramar.” She lived in Castellammare from 1971 to 2005 and enjoyed Cafe Tivoli, Cafe Misto, Cloud 9, Starbucks and dining outside at Mort’s Deli. Her gentleness, humility, love and friendship will be missed. She lit up so many lives and fought so courageously, surviving three battles with breast cancer and one with lung cancer. Ann is survived by her stepparents, Max and Reca Gerchik of Pacific Palisades, and her half siblings, Danny, Lisa and Julie. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Humane Society, the Sierra Club, or the American Cancer Society.
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