Ann Renfrew '82 Dies While Hiking In Great Britain

A Harvard senior was killed Tuesday in a hiking accident near Fort William, Scotland, after she became lost in heavy mist on Ben Nevis, Great Britain's highest mountain.

A mountain search team recovered the body of Ann G. Renfrew '82 in Five Finger Gulch on the mountain's south face.

Renfrew, a resident of Quincy House, was described by Harvard students, faculty and staff who knew her as an excellent student and a shy, but warm and friendly person.

Renfrew, along with her twin sister Susan and her younger sister Judith had begun climbing the 4406-foot mountain early Tuesday on a tourist path, but Renfrew and her sisters became separated.

The sisters reached the summit by early afternoon and began waiting for her. When Renfrew did not appear, they notified local police, who began a search mission.

After the body was discovered, police reported that Renfrew had most likely lost her way in the heavy fog which normally surrounds, the peak, and attempted to retrace her steps back to the tourist path when she fell.

She had been visiting her parents in England. Her father, Glen Renfrew, is an executive with the Reuters News Service, and is presently stationed in Great Britain, as managing director.

Elizabeth W. Swain, Quincy House senior tutor, said yesterday Renfrew was "a marvelous person--very mature and very well-liked, and added that "she contributed a lot to the House in a quiet way."

Lisa Kornestsky, who will take over as assistant to the master in Quincy this fall, described Renfrew as "soft-spoken and shy, but a very friendly, nice person."

Renfrew, an advanced placement Engineering and Applied Sciences concentrator, had been scheduled to graduate this spring, but decided to spend a fourth year at the University and graduate in 1982 with a combined bachelor of arts degree in Engineering and a masters in science.

Harry R. Lewis, professor of Computer Science, said yesterday that Renfrew was "a brilliant student and a delightful person to talk to."

Lewis became acquainted with Renfrew last year when she took two of his courses, Applied Math 108 and 110. "She was one those people who you don't get to know until about two months after the course has started." Lewis said, adding that "She rarely spoke up in class and I didn't even know her until I noticed that this one individual was doing consistently fantastic work."

Lewis said that Renfrew had shown the potential for a successful career in science