BUCKYVERSE

Anne Hewlett Fuller (1896-1983)

Family Background

Anne Hewlett was born January 9, 1896, in Brooklyn, New York. She was the eldest daughter of James Monroe Hewlett (1868-1941) and Anna Willets (1867-1920). Her father was a prominent Beaux Arts architect, scenic designer, and muralist who graduated from Columbia University's School of Mines (1890), studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and joined McKim, Mead & White before co-founding Lord and Hewlett (1894). He served as president of the Architectural League of New York, vice-president of the AIA, and director of the American Academy in Rome (1932-1935). He is credited with creating the mural of the heavens on the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal. The Hewlett family was an old Long Island family — the town of Hewlett, New York is named for them. They were based at Rock Hall in Lawrence, Long Island. Anne's mother came from a Quaker family. Anne had nine younger siblings.

Anne attended the New York School of Applied Design for Women, where she developed her own creative and design skills.

Marriage (1917)

Anne met Fuller around 1914-1916 (sources vary). They married July 12, 1917, at Rock Hall, Lawrence, Long Island, during World War I. Fuller had enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was commissioned as an ensign at the Naval Academy. The marriage gave Fuller "entry into a world that would change his life: her father's architectural circle."

Alexandra Willets Fuller (1918-1922)

Their first daughter, Alexandra Willets Fuller, was born December 12, 1918. She contracted spinal meningitis and infantile paralysis (polio) in 1919, prompting Fuller to resign from the Navy. Alexandra died November 14, 1922, just before her fourth birthday. She is buried at Westbury Friends Cemetery (Quaker). Fuller suspected the death was connected to damp and drafty living conditions — a driving motivation for his housing innovations. The grief was devastating for both Anne and Bucky, contributing to heavy drinking and the eventual 1927 crisis.

Allegra Fuller Snyder (born 1927)

Their second daughter, Allegra Fuller Snyder, was born August 28, 1927, in Chicago. She became a dance ethnologist and professor at UCLA, married documentary filmmaker Robert Snyder, and co-founded the Buckminster Fuller Institute. She died July 11, 2021, at age 93.

Anne's Role During Fuller's Career

Family spokesman Ron Landsman described Anne as "a tremendous behind-the-scene supporter of Bucky." She proved astonishingly flexible during the difficult 1920s-30s and equally resourceful managing his affairs after WWII. Alec Nevala-Lee's biography notes she played an "unsung role."

Anne was "a creative spirit in her own right." She designed an attractive clapboard cottage for the family in Noroton, Connecticut in the mid-1930s. Nevala-Lee notes this "apparently gave her status over Bucky, who had not yet successfully built an affordable model home despite multiple attempts."

In her own words: "I have really enjoyed it. He's a great worrier, all these tremendous problems are on his mind and some of them weigh very heavily. But my mind is not that way; I'm more cheery and not too concerned with weighty problems." And: "I realize there's not much I can do about them, so my philosophy is to enjoy life."

The marriage survived severe strains — Nevala-Lee notes they came close to divorcing at least twice, and Fuller had several affairs. Yet Anne stayed, and the marriage endured 66 years.

Later Years

Carbondale, Illinois (1960-1971): Anne and Bucky moved into a geodesic dome home at 407 S. Forest Avenue in 1960. It was the only dome Fuller ever lived in and the only property he ever owned (1,000 sq ft, assembled in seven hours). Anne said: "We enjoyed living in the dome. It was easy to take care of, and even though it was only 1,000 square feet, it seemed like a big house and we didn't feel closed in." The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 as "The R. Buckminster Fuller and Anne Hewlett Dome Home."

Pacific Palisades, California (late 1970s-1983): They moved to be near Allegra and her family.

Their Deaths (July 1-3, 1983)

Anne had undergone intestinal cancer surgery seven to eight years before her death. In April 1983, cancer recurred. By June 1983, she could no longer digest food. During one procedure, doctors perforated her esophagus while inserting a feeding tube. She entered a coma-like state.

On July 1, while at her bedside at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, Fuller believed he felt her squeeze his hand. He exclaimed something and suffered a massive heart attack, dying approximately one hour later. Anne died approximately 36 hours later on July 3, without regaining consciousness. They died nine days before their 66th wedding anniversary.

They are buried together at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, under a shared marker reading "Call Me Trimtab."

Sources