Dr. Ann Bronwyn Paulk

Ann Bronwyn Paulk, of St.Paul, Minnesota, passed away on March 8, 2026, after a long struggle with dementia.

Ann is survived by her husband, Steve Bigler; her children, Meghan Paulk Ingle, Charlie Paulk, and Allison Paulk; her grandchildren, Wyatt Ingle, Veronica Ingle, Alexander Harmon, and Aaron Harmon; her brother, Craig Thummel; sister, Kris Plank; as well as other extended family and dear friends.

Ann was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to parents Glenn and Vera Thummel. She grew up with her older brother, Craig, and younger sister, Kris, in Harlan, Iowa. She played flute and piano, studied ballet, rode horses, and was a life guard at the Harlan public pool.

Ann attended the University of Iowa for her undergraduate studies, and ultimately went on to earn a Ph.D. in Art History from her alma mater. After marrying Dr. Stephen Paulk and raising a family in Waterloo, Iowa, Ann returned to the University of Iowa to pursue her Ph.D. and a career in college teaching. She later married Steven Bigler in 1998, an art professor at the University of Northern Iowa.

Dr. Ann Paulk was devoted to her academic pursuits and teaching. She moved to Granville, Ohio, then Beloit, Wisconsin, for brief stints in the art departments at Denison University and Beloit College. Eventually Ann took a teaching position at Hamline University in St. Paul, where she taught a variety of courses in the Hamline art department from 2009 t0 2014.

Ann and Steve prioritized travel in their relationship. Ann had many fond memories of her travels to Greece, Europe, the U.K., and many U.S. cities. Many trips were undertaken to have firsthand experiences of art works that would be used for their lectures. She loved all mediums of art, including painting, textiles, sculpture, pottery, and photography. She kept meticulous travel journals, documenting museum visits, the land and cityscapes, and the various cuisines and cultures of Europe and Greece.

Ann loved her condo in their neighborhood in St. Paul. She also loved summers at the lake cabin with family and friends. She was a good cook, and was especially adept at Italian food. If there was any pie leftover it became her breakfast, accompanied by strong black coffee. She enjoyed reading, which ranged from the New York Times, novels by Marilyn Robinson, Sandor Marai, Elena Ferrante and John Irving being her favorites. She also enjoyed music, ranging from classical (Bach, Beethoven and Chopin piano sonatas were favorites), Keith Jarrett’s jazz piano, Leonard Cohen, and 50’s-70’s oldies. Many evenings were spent watching the evening news and enjoying films. Ann also stayed physically active playing tennis, swimming, working out at the nearby gym, and going on long walks.

Ann loved her family, friends, her favorite pet, a Bernese Mountain Dog named Tasca. Even after dementia had stolen much of her earlier life, she remained “Ann”. She will be dearly missed.