In 1974, Anna Pace left Atlanta for New Orleans to satisfy her artistic streak.
She rented a second-floor apartment in the French Quarter. She'd get up in the mornings and set up shop alongside other permitted artists in Jackson Square. She'd talk to tourists, paint and sell her detailed renderings, which often reflected the city's historic structures.
"She was an eccentric artist," said her daughter, Marianna Pace Landau of Charlotte, N.C. "One time she counted every brick in a building she painted. She was super-talented, and she searched for a lot of things. She was a very good musician, too, but painting just fit her personality better."
Mrs. Pace's house was destroyed in the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. So she returned to Atlanta, where she'd raised a family with her husband of 13 years, the late artist James W. Pace. In 2005, she settled in Ansley Park.
On Friday, Anna Virginia Jernigan Pace died in her sleep at the home of a son, Michael Pace of Alpharetta. She was 85. The family plans to host a private ceremony at a later date. Alpharetta-SouthCare Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Tampa, Mrs. Pace tried different colleges and various majors before she settled on something. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science and history from Northwestern University near Chicago. At the time, she was already married to Mr. Pace, whom she'd met in 1949 on a cruise to Havana, Cuba. They married in 1951.
After college, the couple lived in Chicago for several years before moving to Atlanta for a warmer climate in 1958. Here, Mrs. Pace was a homemaker, mother to four children and a community activist, said her son, Andrew Pace of Lawrenceville.
"She was involved with getting Maynard Jackson elected mayor," he said, "and she served on the board of directors for the Butler Street YMCA. Justice was a theme in her life. She was always concerned about those who didn't get justice, and she thought blacks didn't."
Mrs. Pace was a lifetime student. If she tried something and didn't like it, she would move on to something else. Prior to Northwestern, she'd attended Florida State and the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where she studied piano.
Though she had talent, the piano didn't stick. Painting did. In New Orleans, she was known by French Quarter neighbors and Jackson Square artists as Ms. Ann, her daughter said.
"It was heartbreaking for her to lose her home and her job in New Orleans," her daughter said. "That was her life."
"And she realized that phase of her life was over," added her son. "She had a lot of creative talents. She decided she wanted to paint and she lived that lifestyle for 30 years."
Additional survivors include another son, Mark Pace of Lawrenceville; a brother, Ernest Jernigan of Ocala, Fla.; six grandchildren and a step-grandson.
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