Anne Kantor

Anne Echelman Kantor, 85, passed peacefully in her sleep on Sept 11, 2021. She’d expressed deep contentment and gratitude for the beautiful life she had led, noting that she’d had three great love affairs.  A native and life-long resident of Tampa, she graduated from H.B.Plant High School and Tulane’s Sophie Newcomb College. She excelled in art history and theater. She sang and enjoyed Tampa Community Theater where she played the lead in Oklahoma and many musicals.  While raising 4 children, she taught art to preschool children. In the 60s she became involved in the craft movement as a silversmith, with national gallery representation.  In the 70s she co-founded  the Boulevard Shops with her sister Barbara Garrett, and ran their  5 stores in Tampa, Brandon, Clearwater, and Belleair Beach for 25 years. Her next career was as a jewelry designer at Floating Jewels,which she exhibited in the Gasparilla Art Festival. She was married to endocrinologist Gilbert Echelman MD for 18 years, to fashion retailer, cookie entrepreneur and devoted family man Bernard Kantor for 35 years, and in her eighties she found love again, and married attorney, Florida legislator and philanthropist William Fleece.  She enjoyed travel to India, China, Indonesia, and trips to multiple parts of Europe. She was devoted to her four children, the late David Alan Echelman MD of Massachusetts, the late Michael Dean Echelman of Tampa, and is survived by two living children, retired marine scientist Todd Steven Echelman of Tampa, and sculptor Janet Echelman of Boston who created the public artwork on the new St Pete Pier. She was also devoted to 5 step-children, and loved being Nana to her 9 grandchildren. In her memory, the family is sponsoring an Afghan refugee at the Asian University for Women, and in lieu of flowers donations can be made in her name: https://asian-university.org/donate . Memorial Service will be held Friday Sept 17th at 11:30am at Schaarai Zedek and online at www.zedek.org/streaming.