The life of 104-year-old Ann Barsamian Polasek has been marked by tragedy, grit, prosperity and generosity. But more than anything else, it has been marked by faith.
She still carries with her the sting of her early days. Her parents fled Armenia for Wisconsin during the Turkish invasion of 1920, resulting in the loss of their three oldest children.
Ann, who would be raised as an only child, married John Polasek, whom she had met at Marquette University in Milwaukee, in 1952. The Polaseks moved to Orlando, where John worked as a physicist while Ann pursued real estate and investing, in 1960.
“If you could know all that has happened in my life, it is most unusual, but through it all, I’ve always been close to God,” she says. (God certainly blessed the couple when they bought a 40-acre grove, which happened to be among the tracts that would later be acquired by Disney World.)
John and Ann weren’t in town long before a friend and a family member each mentioned knowing of a Winter Park artist named Albin Polasek. The famed sculptor, like John, was of Czech heritage. And although no genetic connection was ever found, the families became friends.
The creator of Man Carving His Own Destiny and hundreds of other works died in 1965, but had formed a foundation in 1961 that owned his lakeside home and studio. That complex and the surrounding grounds later became the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens.
In the 1980s, Ann—whose formidable civic resumé includes fundraising for the Morningstar Catholic School, which serves special-needs students in grades K to 12—joined the museum board and remains a member emeritus.
To this day, the family never misses the annual Winter Park Paint Out Festival, held at the museum. And their legacy of generosity can be found in the sculpture gardens, where Ann funded bronze castings of two of the 14 stations of the cross.
Then, in 2013, her four children paid for a bronze casting of the late artist’s original concrete Mother and Child statue in her honor. Ann’s response: “We loved it! Wonderful!”
The bridge-playing, day-trading centenarian—once a golfer who possessed pro-level skills—may have slowed down but retains her joie de vivre. “I encourage old folks like me, don’t sit in the house,” says Ann. “Get out and walk outside. Call a friend and invite them over for coffee. Don’t be alone. We’re not dead yet, so enjoy it!”
As for what she wants to leave behind in this world, she leaves no doubt: “I want my legacy to be that I loved and served God.” The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens is located at 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park. For more information, call 407.647.6294 or visit polasek.org.
