Dr. Anne Hadley Behrend

September 7, 2025

CHARLOTTE – Dr. Anne Hadley Behrend, 93, died Sunday, September 7, 2025. Born March 25, 1932, and raised in St. Louis Missouri, Dr. Behrend excelled as a student, finishing high school early. She enrolled in Sophie Newcomb College at Tulane University in New Orleans where she met the love of her life, Lt. Col. Weldon Arthur Behrend (USAF, Retired). They were married in 1952 and were together until Weldon’s death in 2018.

Dr. Behrend continued her pursuit of education, obtaining both an undergraduate degree and a Masters in Library Science from Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont. Her teaching career spanned more than two decades beginning at Craftsbury Academy in Vermont and continued in Asheville, NC, and in Charlottesville, VA, where she was named department chair of History at the prestigious St. Anne’s – Belfield School. After relocating to Lynchburg, VA, she obtained her Doctor of Education degree at Liberty University in May of 2013 at the age of 81.

While education was important to Dr. Behrend, foremost was her love for family and her focus on her daughter Elizabeth and son William. Before pursuing her advanced education, Dr. Behrend raised her two children as a military wife, moving every three years or so. While in the Air Force, the family lived in Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Washington State, Colorado and Japan, finally settling in northern Vermont. Through all the relocations, she focused on ensuring that her children received the best education possible while encouraging curiosity to explore things of interest.

Dr. Behrend is preceded in death by her husband, Weldon (September 2018) and is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Giguere (Paul), her son William Behrend (Laura), seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, her sister Jane Perry of Columbia, SC and several nieces and nephews.

A private memorial service will be held September 27, 2025, at Windsor Run in Matthews, NC.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.

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  • Stephanie Lomascolo

    Anne is one of the finest people I have ever known. Diligent and a faithful friend, she is upright, courageous, funny, intelligent, loving and full of faith. I shall miss our visits which took place almost every year after her retirement from our school, A. C. Reynolds High in Asheville, NC. While there she taught several levels of English, and AP US History, as well as taking our school through the arduous task of re-accreditation. Many students have been inspired by her excellent teaching. A talented writer, and a woman of wide experience of our world, she was nevertheless, always down-to-earth in all of her interactions with others. I have used the present tense in speaking of her, because her person lives on and I look forward to sharing with her again at the feet of our Savior.

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  • David Heffner

    I was very sorry to find out that Mrs. Behrend had passed away. I met and became friends with both Mr. and Mrs. Behrend when they were living in Virginia, and even continued to keep in touch with them once they moved to North Carolina. They were both amazing people, and I will greatly miss speaking to Mrs. Behrend on the phone every year on each of our birthdays. My condolences to the family.

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