In Loving Memory of Ann Tschiffely Moyer Scharff

November 23, 1931 - May 22, 2025

With deep love and respect, we share the passing of Ann Scharff—beloved friend, mother, grandmother, mentor, co-founder (and angel) of the Fellowship Community, and quiet force of compassionate service. Ann passed peacefully, surrounded by the spirit of the very community she helped build and nurture.

Born in the Taigu District of Shanxi Province, China, Ann was the youngest of three daughters of Raymond and Dorothy Moyer. Her early childhood in China — marked by cultural richness, close communal ties, and eventual upheaval due to war — left a lifelong imprint on her. She often said, “My sense of community grew out of my early years in China. People looked after each other, it was the natural way.”

Ann with her two sisters

Her family fled war-torn China in 1939 by boat, settling in Washington, DC. Ann later attended Oberlin College, where she met Paul Scharff. Their partnership, grounded in shared ideals and love, would go on to shape generations.

Together, Ann and Paul Scharff brought to life the Fellowship Community—an intergenerational elder care community deeply rooted in the principles of Anthroposophy. While the original vision began with Dr. Linder and others who hoped to create a space where local Anthroposophists could be cared for, it was Paul and Ann whose leadership, dedication, and vision turned that hope into a living reality. With their guidance, the Fellowship became a vibrant community centered on the care of elders, the care of the land, and the cultivation of meaningful human relationships. While Paul brought vision and practical intensity, Ann was the steady heart — the administrator, caregiver, and moral center of the Fellowship. Her service was unceasing: rising early to care for elders, managing complex operations, and always, always doing whatever was needed with quiet mastery and grace. Even in recent months, she remained engaged, attending Trustee meetings, stripping herbs for tea, drying silverware and helping wherever she could. 

Easter weekend dinner with Michael, Chris, Katherine and John.

Ann was mother to four (Chris, Michael, Katherine and John), grandmother to eight, and soon-to-be great-grandmother. Her nurturing extended far beyond her family, touching the lives of countless coworkers, friends, and community members. Her ability to see the good in everyone, and her willingness to meet each person with a genuine presence, became the foundation of a community rooted in care.

Seeing the good in everyone, meeting each person with her genuine presence, Ann was truly the heart of the community. She never asked of anyone that which she did not ask of herself, a life’s testament in action to the love and service which lie at the heart of the Fellowship Community.

In honor of Ann’s life and her unwavering love and dedication to the Fellowship, please consider making a charitable contribution in memory of Ann to the Rudolf Steiner Fellowship Foundation. Her enthusiasm and faithfulness to this community has been an enduring inspiration.

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Please visit: fellowshipcommunity.org/donate-now to make a donation or you can send a check payable to RSFF, 241 Hungry Hollow Rd, Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 (be sure to indicate your gift is in memory of Ann Scharff on the memo line).