Margaret "Ann" Kylander was born on September 22, 1922 in Russell (Lucas County) Iowa. She was the eldest child of Glen A. Kells and Edythe M. Wright Kells. Other children include Robert Kells (deceased), Wanda Kells Calderon and Husband Haim of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Jo Ke
Ann was born on the family farm, Kells Acres Farm and attended the Pleasant Mound elementary school, about 1.5 miles walk from her home. High school years were completed in Russell where she would ride three miles to town on her horse, Nell, a cantankerous mare that was always in the mood for kicking, making Ann the most experienced with horses in the family. She would leave Nell in Great Grandma Margaret Ann Kells barn and walk onto school, not sure of what mischief Nell would get into while she was gone. In the wintertime, Ann would drive to school in a one-horse sleigh, which is still in the family. After high school graduation in 1939 she attended Iowa State College in Cedar falls, Iowa and received her teaching certificate. She then taught 1st-4th grades in Randall, Iowa and the 4th grade in Glenwood, Iowa. She began teaching at only 17 years of age.
In 1945, Ann decided she needed to move west to find someone to marry that she wasn't related to and settled in Powell, Wyoming with an aunt and uncle. This is where she met John Francis Kylander, just home from the Navy and WWII. John worked in a gas station and often took coffee breaks at a small cafe across the street where he met the "new first grade teacher in town". The sparks flew and so goes the story and they were married on April 20, 1946 in Billings, Montana. In 1948, son Jed A. was born and in 1950 the Kylander family moved to Cheyenne, Wyo. where "Francie" went to work with the Union Pacific Railroad as a switchman and later a brakeman. In 1952 daughter Sue A. was born. Ann continued teaching as a substitute teacher for many years and she also enjoyed visiting her children's classes now and then in elementary school.
Ann and Francie were members of the First Baptist Church in Cheyenne for more than 50 years. She was a Sunday school teacher for many years and in their later years Ann and Francie volunteered in the nursery department during church services. Ann also volunteered her time at the Eventide Nursing Home reading to the residents, fulfilling her joy of reading.
When Francie retired from the UP Railroad in 1983, after 33 years of service, they began to travel south for the winter months enjoying the warmer climates of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. They would return to Cheyenne for the summer to enjoy hobbies of gardening, reading, family genealogy and spoiling the grandchildren. In 2010, Ann and Francie moved to Kremmling, Colo to live with their daughter Sue. John Francie passed away on March 3, 2010 at age 87 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Margaret Ann passed away on May 18, 2013 shortly after a stroke.
Ann is survived by her son, Jed and his wife Rosemary of Cheyenne and her daughter Sue and her husband Dennis Pratt of Kremmling, Colo. She is also survived by three grandchildren and their spouses and six great-grandchildren; also her two sisters and many nieces and nephews. Margaret Ann and John Francis Kylander will be interred at the Powell, Wyoming cemetery at a later time.
If friends and family would like to make a donation in Ann's memory, please make it to the Heart of the Mountains Hospice, P.O. Box 140, Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo. 80451.
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