Anna Reisa Wellington
(1920-1983)

Here's Anna and her daughter Alexa in the summer of 1982

This is Anna with Stella in the summer of 1983.

In 1983 Anna Wellington passed away at the age of 63. Anna had battled some health issues in recent years but most were surprised that her health declined so rapidly that last year.
Anna's legacy in the Wellington Estate history is significant in the personality she brought to it from the time she was introduced as Liam's girlfriend in 1938.
The Wellington Estate had been about business and timber, Anna brought a sense of celebrity, sass and personality that influenced and affected everyone who knew her. Some would argue that Anna to some degree maintained a sense of "close community" in her town over the course of 25 years primarily with the success of the theater. A number of people were employed by the theater and of course many of the patrons were also business people in the community and the theater and estate served as a central point where so many of them gathered.
Anna Wellington defied age for many years, she always maintained she wasnt afraid of dying, rather she was afraid of not living.
Anna Wellington is most famous for her success of the theater, and her wildly famous holiday pool parties.
For further reading on Anna and the theater, or the holiday pool parties, you may click either link listed below.
Both links will be provided again at the end of our trilogy as well, so if you can be patient,we recommend you continue on below with the story.
Anna's Pool Parties
Anna's Years
***

The Wellington Estate was on the path for a major crisis between the years of 1979-1983.
Richard Cottington's health began to decline in 1979 and a battle with lung cancer would take his life in 1981. Cottington had been in control of everything from the timber company to all facets of the estate and the performing arts theater dating back to 1959, he found it difficult procuring a replacement for himself in the company. As early as 1978 Cottington had urged Anna to make some amendments in the Wellington trust to safeguard its future with more stringent checks and balances, he also urged her to appoint her majority seat in the timber company based on the eratic behaviors of Anna's son Michael; unfortunately, Anna neglected to make any bold changes and she would not have believed her health would decline so fast.
Cottington's death in 1981, combined with the passing of Anna not quite 2 years later created a power grab in all aspects of the Wellington Estate.

Michael Vincent (1941-1991) and Alexa Renee(1945- )
Micheal Vincent returned to Wellington estate in 1983 for the burial of his mother, not the visitation, just the burial, it was his first return to the estate in nearly 10 years.
Michael always had a distant relationship with his mother, even before Liam's death it seemed Michael and Anna were never close. Most people said Anna spoiled Michael too much perhaps trying to appease him since losing his father.
Michael left for college in 1959 and was a bright kid capable of scoring well academically but Micheal was a counter culture type, he dropped out of college on 2 occasions and usually returned to the estate only when he needed money or help with something. Anna would go a year or more at a time without hearing word from Michael and then out of the blue he'd show up at the estate; usually wanting more money, as a result the relationship between the two became more strained when Anna started cutting down Michael's "money tree" somewhere around 1972.
Michael was a counter culture hippy, but he did have some education and intelligence, he clearly knew he'd have a role in the distribution of the estate hence his return in 1983.
Michael had a keen awareness of how the estate was set up; both the trust fund and the timber business, he knew that unless Anna made changes he would be next of heir and the majority seat on the Wellington Timber board; he also knew that he would be at least part executor over the Wellington estate and trust. Michael was correct on both accounts since Anna never amended the original designs of the trust despite warning to do so from Richard Cottington. Anna found it difficult to remove her own son from the benefits of the company, despite his troubles he was a Wellington, and she couldnt bring herself to make the change.
The estate and timber company would find it even more difficult in the years ahead dealing with Michael Vincent.

Alexa Wellington was everything her brother was not. Alexa was more quiet, reserved, willing to go with the flow, she and her mother were close and had become closer in recent years leading up to Anna's passing away. Alexa was not close to her brother at all, in fact Alexa feared Michael from a very young age and Micheal seemed to take pleasure in manipulating her.
Alexa struggled greatly after her fathers death and became very withdrawn, she found comfort in her acedemics and went to college to study business management.
Alexa's struggles in adult life would be in her marital relationships, she shocked Anna when she dropped out of college and married John Stewart in 1965. Alexa and John would have 2 children; Gregory in 1967 and Kimberly in 1970 but the couple separated not long after and were officially divorced in 1971. Alexa would have a second marriage fail, nearly enter a third, and then finally married again in 1979. The turbulent years of Alexa's multiple failed relationships also put strain on her mother for many years, Alexa was known for running home to "mommy" each time something went wrong.
Alexa finally seemed to find happiness with the right person in her marriage to Phillip Branders in 1979 yet she too was now having troubles with her own son, and both of her children to an extent; that coupled with losing her mother in 1983 put additional strain on her latest marriage.
Alexa was not prepared to fight her brother tooth and nail over the estate, she feared the stress of doing so could potentially ruin her marriage and her life, as the struggle went on with her brother, Alexa's will to fight him became weaker.
**
Michael Vincent was clever in surmising the situation around the estate, after Anna's funeral Alexa returned to her home on the east coast and it was her intention to liquidate the Wellington Estate and split the proceeds, while the trust remained in tact by the provisions already established, Michael had other plans.
As an executor of the estate, Michael was able to assume a controlling position, he moved into the estate house and there wasnt anything saying that he couldnt.
Michael Vincent believed he was the next heir to the throne over the Wellington Estate and had a plan devised to take full control and push his sister out of the picture.

Continue