Anne Diller Kear died in Denver, CO, on January 21, 2026, after a brief illness. She will be remembered as a loving mother and vibrant, caring person who used her leadership skills to serve her God, her family and her community.
She was born June 26, 1940, to Reverend Robert G. and Eleanor Wells Diller in Marion, Ohio. She is survived by two sons, Jeffrey Kear (Denver, CO) and Andrew (Lori) Kear (Perrysburg, OH); her sister Amy Diller (Denver); foster daughter Hannah Giles (FL); and grandson Dillon Kear. She is preceded in death by her husband Hubert and her parents.
Anne attended elementary and junior high school in Alliance, OH, where her father was a minister in the United Church of Christ. The family moved to Upper Sandusky, OH, in 1955 where she graduated from high school in 1958. As a child she began her love of music studying the violin for 12 years. In college she sang in the Concert Choir and was violin soloist.
Anne attended Heidelberg College (OH) and graduated with honors in 1962. She met the love of her life, Hubert Kear, there. They married on June 16, 1963. They lived in Wharton, OH, where Hubert was president of The Village Bank of Wharton and Dunkirk. Anne taught high school English and speech at Riverdale High School until their sons were born. She served on the Riverdale Board of Education for eight years.
Anne was active in Trinity United Church of Christ (UCC) in Upper Sandusky, OH, and for over 20 years in the Ohio Conference of the UCC where she served as moderator in 1980. She was also a leader in the national UCC. From 1976-1981 she worked for her college alma mater as Director of Alumni and Church Relations and Admissions. Anne served on several boards of institutions related to the UCC – The Defiance College, Eden Theological Seminary, United Church Homes and Crossroad Child and Family Services. In 1981 she heeded the call to ordained ministry and studied at the Methodist Theological School of Ohio (Delaware, OH) where she graduated in 1984.
She served Trinity United Church of Christ in McCutchenville, OH, from 1984-1991. In 1991 the couple moved to Ft. Thomas, KY, where she served as senior pastor of Christ Church United Church of Christ. In 1999 she and Hubert moved to Longmont, CO, where she served as pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ until she retired in 2007. She then moved to Denver in 2019 to be near family and joined First Plymouth UCC in Denver in 2020.
Long concerned with homelessness and lack of affordable housing, Anne served on the Longmont Affordable Housing Board from 2007-2018, serving as chair of the board for two years. She was a member of the Longmont Chorale for 12 years.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Longmont, CO, on Friday, March 6 at 10am MT (12pm ET), with a reception following.
In lieu of flowers, please direct all gifts to the OUR Center in Longmont. Online donations can be made in the memory of Anne Kear at: www.ourcenter.org/donate
To view the service online, go to: www.tinyurl.com/kear-service
