Zander was born as Anna Maria Propson in Pallien, a suburb of Trier in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on 12 May 1913. Her father, Anton (1888 – 1973) was a painter. As a baby, her mother took her to the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge on 14 October 1913. She was a curious child and always asked questions about history to her father and grandfather.

In 1917, a bomb struck Zander’s hometown of Pallien, followed by a resistance against the French; both events stuck in her head.

Zander could remember the visit of President of the German Empire Paul von Hindenburg in October 1930. In 1933, she had passed an exam to become a garden designer, but did not choose to work in the profession, instead working as a secretary at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium until the end of World War II, and later as a payroll clerk at the Paulis printers. There she met her husband, Claus Zander, and they married and had one daughter, Waltraud.

Zander recollected the air raids of World War II, deciding not to evacuate Trier. She later remarked that she was “surprised that [she] survived.”

After her retirement, Zander devoted herself to her hobbies, which included history and family research. She did a lot of research in local archives and supported her husband in the production of the New Trier Yearbook published by the Trierisch Association.

At the time of her 109th birthday, along with her daughter, Zander had three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. As a supercentenarian, she lives in Trier and was the oldest resident of Rhineland-Palatinate. She died on 12 December 2023 at the age of 110 years, 214 days.