Ann Bowling Pearson (4/6/1941-6/23/2020) was the daughter of Mary Elizabeth "Libba" Duncan Pearson and Allen Mobley Pearson. Her maternal grandfather was Luther Noble Duncan, President of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) from 1935 to 1947. Ann was born in Montgomery, AL, and was raised in Auburn, AL, where she lived until her death at the age of 79. She received her Ph.D. in English Literature from Auburn University in 1971 and taught at Georgia Southwestern State University before teaching at Auburn University.

For many years, Ann wrote a newspaper column, "In Random Order," for the Auburn Bulletin. She also wrote movie reviews for the Opelika-Auburn News and published annual cat-themed Christmas stories for children in the Auburn Bulletin and The Villager. She published three crime novels before partnering with Ralph Draughon Jr. and Delos Hughes to publish "Lost Auburn, a Village Remembered in Period Photographs," which was followed by "No Place Like Home" with Draughon, Hughes, and Emily Amason Sparrow.

Dr. Pearson was notably active in many community endeavors. A true cat lover, she was a founding member and lifetime supporter of the Lee County Humane Society. She also served as President of the Auburn Heritage Association and Auburn Cemetery Advisory Board. She was a member of Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and a life member of the Lee County Historical Society where she also served on the board. Ann had special interest in cemeteries and was Lee County's representative to the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance, locating and recording numerous historic rural cemeteries. In the 1990s, she led the effort to revitalize Auburn's historic Baptist Hill Cemetery and convinced the city to take over its maintenance. She also funded the enhancements to Auburn's historic Pine Hill Cemetery. The biennial Pine Hill Lantern Tour was founded by Ann Pearson and Carolyn Levy.

Ann's interest in historic preservation manifested itself in the ongoing preservation of her home, Noble Hall, an intact 1854 antebellum home and farm that was purchased by her great-grandfather in the 1940s. In 1972, Noble Hall was the first structure in Lee County to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. She received the prestigious Roy Swayze Award from the Alabama Historical Association for her work on Noble Hall. Ann also purchased, refurbished, and moved several other historic Auburn homes, one of which she donated to Auburn University. The donated building, the Dowdell-Alvis-Emrick House, "Sunny Slope," is now the home of Auburn University's OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.