Issue: Spring 2016 | Posted: April 25, 2016

Old School

Memoriam: G. Ann Livingstone

G. Ann Livingstone, Union University faculty member for more than 40 years, died at her home in Jackson, Tenn., on Feb. 11, 2016.

A graduate of Anderson University with a degree in political science, Livingstone had a lifelong interest in humanitarian efforts across the world. Her parents, Eldon and Beth Boggs, served in Tokyo, Japan, when she was a child, beginning her engagement with other cultures and starting her on the path of being a world traveler.

“She pressed her students to a see a world bigger than what they knew,” Kevin Sheiley (‘94), one of Livingstone’s many students, said. “She wanted you to think and to know why.”

It was in 1974 that Livingstone joined the Union University faculty as an associate professor of political science and then director of the Honors Program. She received the distinction of Outstanding Teacher for her work, and she shaped many programs, including the Scholar-in- Residence program.

“For Ann, learning was not just a classroom endeavor,” Sheiley said. “She pushed us as we watched her being pushed. She was real and made sure we saw her struggles as well...a single mom raising two daughters and working on her doctorate a continent away.”

While research opportunities in Canada took her from Jackson, Livingstone continued to be a frequent lecturer at Union’s events and courses. Throughout her life, she worked to make sure she “filled the world with love” by being strong, brave and true.

“I know I am but one of thousands whose life has been changed for the better because of her passion and work,” Sheiley said. “I thank God for Ann’s life, her teaching and her calling.”

Livingstone is survived by her two daughters, Katherine Semrau (Christopher Adams) and Maggie Semrau; her mother, Beth Boggs; her sisters, Merry Sue Boggs and Bethany Boggs Fisher (Philip); her brothers, Jonathan Boggs and Joel Boggs (Rita); and her nephews, Adam, Brayden, Aaron, Daniel, TJ and Jamison. She was preceded in death by her father, Eldon, and her nephew, Jordan.