Anong Naree Hemphill

Anong Naree Sibanyen Hemphill or “Annie”, passed away May 17, 2026. Annie was born in Thailand. At 18, she met an American, Roderick Hemphill, working in Thailand as an interpreter for the Thai Silk Company. They were married on September 5, 1951, and soon after had two daughters, Malee and Sita.

Rod’s work for the US government took him to many different countries over the next 20 years. Starting in Carmel, California, the family moved to the Philippines in 1955, where Nancy and Ericka, were born. From there, the family lived in Kenya, Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Anong was quite busy raising her four girls, as well as developing her skills in tennis and bridge. She was a tiny woman with a large and competitive personality. Anong was a great cook, and loved to entertain and feed her family and friends. Although Rod was the linguist, Anong was able to converse in Thai, English, Swahili and Tagalog.

Rod retired in 1974 and they returned to his hometown of Westerly. Anong continued to play tennis and was very active in a bridge and bowling league. Tragedy struck in 1984, when their youngest daughter, Ericka, was killed in an automobile accident. In 1999, Rod passed away after 49 years of marriage and in 2018, Anong moved to Montana to live with her daughter Nancy.

Anong leaves behind three daughters; Malee (Rick), Sita (Steve) and Nancy (Rob). She also leaves behind seven grandchildren; Michael, Jimmy, Stephanie, Heather, Chris, Jesse and Erica and seven great grandchildren; Kirsten, Avery, Cole, Piper, Esme, Holt and Cameron.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.