Anna (Bettencourt) Silva, 81, of Warren died Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at Grace Barker Nursing Home.

Anna was born in Fall River in 1934 and grew up in Bristol, the daughter of the late Anthony and Anna (Viera) Bettencourt. She graduated from Bristol High School in 1953. She was an avid athlete and excelled in basketball, volleyball and swimming.

She moved to Warren in 1955 after her marriage to the late John A. Silva Jr., who died in 2007.

Anna and John met as teenagers one night in 1951. John and his musical band, the Silva Tones, were playing for passengers on the Prudence Island ferryboat sailing from Bristol across Narragansett Bay to Rocky Point Amusement Park. Anna was going to Rocky Point with her friends that night.

They were married on April 23, 1955, at St. Elizabeths Church in Bristol. They then drove to New York City for their honeymoon.

Anna and John soon built a new house on what was once an asparagus field on Johns parents dairy farm on Old Market Street in Warren. There they lived together for more than 50 years and raised their three children.

Through the years Anna held a wide variety of part-time retail, bookkeeping and manufacturing jobs at small businesses in Warren and neighboring towns. But her primary work, and the love of her life, was managing her house and taking care of her kids.

Annas other passion was the Red Sox. That passion came from her father, who fell in love with baseball after migrating to America from the Portuguese Azores Islands as a young boy after World War I. He passed away in 2002, just short of realizing his dream of seeing a Red Sox World Series Championship. Anna could never believe her good fortune to see three.

Anna is survived by her three children: Linda Silva and Paul Silva of Warren, and Steven Silva, who lives in Rye, NY with his wife Kristin Lemkau and their children, Natalie Silva and Sam Silva.

Anna is also survived by a brother, Anthony Bettencourt of Bristol. She was the sister of the late Lydia Ribeiro.

Anna lived the last three years of her life at Grace Barker Nursing Home, where she was frequently visited by family and friends, and where she developed loving relationships with the many staff members who treated her with so much kindness and generosity.

Annas funeral service will be held Saturday, April 23, 2016 in the Smith Funeral and Memorial Services, 8 Schoolhouse Road, Warren. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Calling hours are Saturday morning from 10:00-11:00am, followed by the funeral service. Burial will follow in St. Mary of the Bay Cemetery, Vernon St. Warren.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to The Tomorrow Fund, Rhode Island Hospital Campus, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903 or to the American Cancer Society, 931 Jefferson Boulevard, Suite 3004, Warwick, RI 02886.

www.wjsmithfh.com