Anna Louise Reynolds

Anna Louise Reynolds passed away peacefully on July 22, 2024, at her home in Fearrington Village.

A champion of the underserved and a pioneer for women’s rights, Anna Louise was born on February 19, 1933, in Indianapolis, IN. She was the eldest child of Wellington Wormouth Reynolds and Janice (Lillycrop) Thomas. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Stephen Frederick Reynolds.

Anna Louise earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1955 before embarking on a career as an editor and journalist. She married Joseph Stephen Pagano in 1957. The family moved to Chapel Hill in 1965, and she made Chapel Hill, and then Pittsboro, her home for the remaining 60 years of her life.

She advocated for the oppressed, disadvantaged, and those who struggled to find a voice in society. As the granddaughter of a minister whose church services she attended as a child, and with the knowledge that she came from a proud lineage of ministers on her father’s side, spirituality always lived deep in her soul. While raising two boys with her husband, Joseph Pagano, she pursued her vision of entering the priesthood of the Episcopal Church. She entered Duke Divinity School in 1976, earning a Master of Divinity with honors in 1979. In 1981, she earned a Master of Theology, also at Duke Divinity. In 1983, she was ordained as a deacon, then as a priest in 1984, becoming only the second woman ordained minister in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. She served as Assistant Rector of the Chapel of the Cross from 1983-1984, then as Associate Rector from 1985-1992.

As a priest, Anna Louise drew upon her considerable gifts for writing, performing, and connecting with large audiences. Her sermons were powerful and inspiring; she wove together literature with liturgy and walked her congregants through surprising places, down darkened pathways, and then uplifted them with the beauty and light of God. She often filled the large Chapel to standing room only when she preached, and her congregants left the church uplifted, guided towards a new understanding of living the word of God in daily life, her voice echoing in their hearts.

After leaving the Episcopal Church in the late 1990s, she transformed her commitment to God by joining the Catholic Church. As a congregant at St. Thomas More in Chapel Hill, she led a Bible Studies class for many years. She continued to weave her love of God, scholarship, and religious community together.

She held multiple esteemed positions as an Episcopal priest, including President of the North Carolina Episcopal Clergy Association, Chapel Hill (1989-1991) and Vice-President of the Interfaith Council for Social Service, Chapel Hill (1988). She served on the Boards of Directors for The Coalition for Battered Women, Durham, North Carolina (1983-1986); Orange County Women's Center, Chapel Hill (1983-1985); The Institutional Review Board, The University North Carolina Medical School (1988-1990).

Even in her final years, Anna Louise was full of energy, tenacity, and enthusiasm. She continued to enjoy her lifelong passions of writing, painting, and especially ballroom dancing, astounding many with her beauty, grace, athleticism, and joy of life.

Anna Louise is survived by her brother, The Reverend Michael Jon Thomas (wife Katrina) of Tonawanda, NY, two children, Stephen Reynolds Pagano (wife Mary Ann) of Graham, NC, and Christopher Joseph Pagano (wife Florence) of Wellesley, MA, and her former husband Joseph Stephen Pagano of Chapel Hill, NC. She leaves behind five grandchildren: Benjamin, Noah (wife Brianne), Liliana, Leah (husband David), and Jacob (wife Nina).

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to FINCA International, https://finca.org, or the Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org.