Anna Mae Wack, 97, of Grinnell died October 15, 2015, at Windsor Manor in Grinnell. A funeral mass is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday, October 23rd, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Grinnell with the Rev. Ron Hodges officiating. Marilyn Kriegel will be the organist accompany by the St. Mary's Choir. Milton Severe will be a soloist. Pallbearers will be Larry Cooper, Katherine Jensen, Bill Klein, Ericca, Randy and Veronica Reavis. Burial will be in Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell. Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday at the Smith Funeral Home with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 Thursday evening. Memorial contributions may be directed to PALS in Grinnell. Anna Mae was born February 24, 1918, in Norway, Iowa, to John and Katherine Brecht Wack. She graduated from Norway High School in the midst of the Great Depression; received her Bachelors of Arts from Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa), Cedar Falls, Iowa in 1942; and received her Masters of Arts in Physical Education from University of Iowa in 1953. She completed coursework at the University of Oslo in the summer of 1956 and spent the summer of 1970 studying at the University of Vienna. Her formal teaching career included New Hampton, 1942-44; East High, Waterloo, 1944-52; Cornell College, Mount Vernon, 1954-55; and Grinnell College, Grinnell, 1955-83. While at Grinnell College she was a pioneer in coaching women's sports and played a key role in the planning and construction of the Physical Education Complex. Anna Mae had a passion for many sports, including golf (of which she had a hole-in-one on seven different occasions), tennis and bowling. She enthusiastically shared her expertise and enjoyed igniting a passion for sports in others. She traveled extensively throughout the United States and in Europe, the Middle East and Mexico. Other hobbies included making jewelry, raising dogs, playing cards, solving puzzles and collecting stamps. She was proud of her upbringing in Iowa, especially Norway. She often mentioned childhood activities like sledding, skating and baseball. She was proud of the Norway baseball teams, frequently referring to it as "the baseball capital of the world." Anna Mae is survived by her sister, Ruth McMahon of Fremont, California, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her three brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Paul; and her sister, Mildred Klein.