Ann Brien Britt, former lifestyle editor of the Daily Leader,died this morning after a lengthy illness. She was 75.

Born Olive Andrews Brien on Dec. 13, 1925, in Vicksburg to thelate Elijah Livingston “E. L.” Brien and Elizabeth Watkins Brien,she was a graduate of Gunston Hall School in Virginia and MillsapsCollege.

After serving in the Women’s Air Corps in France in the early1950s, she served as a recruiter for the Air Force in the UnitedStates.

She served as Lifestyle editor at the Daily Leader for 20 yearsuntil her retirement in 1990. She was noted for her weekly column”What’s Happening Here” of local news around the community. She washonored numerous times with awards by the Mississippi PressAssociation for her work. In 1978 she began the annual “WoodenSpoon Cookbook”. The 24th edition of the cookbook was publishedthis year.

“Ann was an important part of our newspaper, her dedication toher work and the standards she set made the DAILY LEADER a betternewspaper,” said retired publisher Charles R. Jacobs.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Robert Brittand Suzanne Britt of Brookhaven; her sister, Betty Noland ofAlexandria, Va.; and two granddaughters, Kelsey Elizabeth Britt andRyanne Olivia Britt of Brookhaven.

A private graveside service will be performed later at Rose HillCemetery.

The family requests that memorials be made to Hospice Ministriesof Central Mississippi, PO Box 3490, Brookhaven, or to theBrookhaven Animal Rescue League, PO Box 909, Brookhaven.