MILLERTON — Anna Mae Kupferer was born May 10,1937, and died May 3, 2026. She grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey where she and her older sister, Dorothea, worked in their father’s ice cream parlor on a life-long obsession with ice cream. As a young woman, Anna Mae attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, receiving her Actor’s Equity card and appearing in summer stock theater productions with the likes of Eartha Kitt and Charlton Heston. In 1961 Anna Mae married Andrew Bruce Kupferer and settled down in West Orange, New Jersey to raise her family of three boys. In the mid-seventies, the family moved to Millerton, New York, an idyllic small town in the Hudson Valley. Anna Mae made friends quickly in her new community and soon found a job at the Lakeville Journal, working her way up from collating the newspaper to advertising manager. Anna Mae loved meeting the area’s business owners and helping them increase their sales. She was a straight shooter with an incredible sense of humor which she put to good use writing her weekly column in the Journal, Keep Your Sunny Side Up, poking fun at herself and her family, and the travails of country living.
For nearly fifty years, Anna Mae was a hardworking, vital force in Millerton. In 2023, she moved from her beloved saltbox house with the “tomahawk door” on Rudd Pond Road to be closer to family. While she missed her friends and neighbors -- particularly her “adopted family” the Elliotts, she was lucky to land at Hartwell Place, an assisted living home in Chicago. She once again made friends quickly becoming an integral part of their caring and compassionate community.
Anna Mae was a devoted wife, loving mother, and doting, generous grandmother.
She is survived by her sons Keith (Tara Mallen) and Kurt (Jolanta), and her granddaughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer. She is preceded in death by her husband, Bruce, and her oldest son, Christopher.
A celebration of Anna Mae’s life will be held (TBD) in Millerton, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Anna Mae’s memory to Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (www.RivendellTheatre.org)--a professional theater she loved to attend that her son Keith and daughter-in-law Tara founded in Chicago in 1996.
Calling hours will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2026 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546. A prayer service will take place at 6:30 p.m. during visitation. To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Anna Mae’s honor, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com.
