- Details
- Category: Current Issue
Francis Emery Marion,
‘Franny'
Francis Emery Marion, “Franny”, the beloved and loving son of Lawrence Joseph Marion and Marjorie Edith (Foote) Marion, passed away at the age of 74 Dec. 2, 2021, in Rocky Hill after a lengthy illness. “We take comfort believing that he has joined his wonderful Dad, Mom, and his gentle Brother John in Heaven.”
Franny was born Oct. 20, 1947, in Putnam, and lived there until his mid-20s.
He leaves his brother Lawrence and sister-in-law Joyce, his brother Robert, his brother Joseph and sister-in-law Patricia, his sister Margaret and brother-in-law Michael, and his brother William. He also leaves his dear nephews Robert Marion, Michael St. Denis, Daniel St. Denis, and his dear niece Lisa St. Denis, and many relatives and friends. He was predeceased by his father Lawrence Joseph Marion in 2001, by his mother Marjorie Marion in 2016, by his brother John Paul Marion in 2009, and by his dear sister-in-law Jacqueline Raszowski Marion in 1998.
Franny was baptized at St Mary’s Church of the Visitation in Putnam on Nov. 9, 1947, by Rev. John Paul Wodarski. He served there as an Altar Boy when the Mass was still celebrated in Latin. He graduated from St. Mary’s School where he was well educated by the Daughters of the Holy Spirit.
He graduated from Marianapolis Preparatory School in Thompson where he received an excellent education from the Marian Fathers. He was mentored there by Father Casimir Kuckell, M.I.C. who was also a great friend of the entire Lawrence Marion Family. While at Marianapolis, Franny was a high performing student, who also excelled at baseball, basketball, and football. During one baseball game in the Putnam Babe Ruth League, he hit a home run batting left-handed and another home run batting right-handed.
He worked side by side with his family at Marycrest Farm and at other neighborhood farms while he was a teenager. He also built a pitching mound at the farm so that he could do more realistic training to improve his skills as a baseball pitcher. He was a wonderful brother and son who was always level-headed and even-tempered.
He attended Providence College for two years. He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisc., so that he could learn the craft of writing well at their highly rated School of Journalism. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in journalism.
Upon his graduation, he was promptly hired by the Mobil Oil Corporation as a writer. He lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. The job enabled him to travel to many different countries of the world. He worked at Mobil for a few years and earned increased job responsibilities. He left Mobil when he was offered a position by Exxon Corporation. He loved his job, and also enjoyed meeting and collaborating with other journalists who were some of his New York City friends and acquaintances. He became president of the Deadline Club of NYC which was the NYC Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He also liked to go on hiking trips with friends in the Sierra Club. He enjoyed music, including playing his guitar and singing.
Then, while still a young man, he was stricken with a serious illness that precluded him from ever being able to work a regular full-time job again. He became interested in health foods and a simple lifestyle. He founded the Natural Food Institute and wrote a number of books and pamphlets. Some of these were Wonder Crops, Alternative Electricity, Powerhouse Plants, and how to construct a Sun King Food Dryer. Franny was a handsome, well built, amiable giant in his younger days. Standing 6-foot, 4-inches, his years of hard farm work had made him exceptionally strong. He was unusually kind, soft spoken, and gentle. He achieved a lot in the relatively short number of years of good health he had prior to his illness. The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the many sincerely helpful staff members at the various hospitals and nursing homes who provided loving and compassionate care to Fran during his many years of disability.
Visitation is from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 9 in Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church St., Putnam, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at noon at St. Mary Church of the Visitation, 218 Providence St., Putnam. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Memorial Masses may be offered in memory of Francis. Donations: Marianapolis Preparatory School, 26 Chase Road, Thompson, CT 06277.
Maureen G. Morley
EASTFORD — Maureen G. Morley, longtime resident of Eastford, died Nov. 14, 2021. Maureen was born July 28, 1942, raised in Glen Rock, N.J., and was a graduate of Connecticut College.
She moved to Eastford with her husband John in 1977.
Maureen spent many years serving the Eastford community through the Library Board, PTO, The Woodstock Academy Board of Trustees, and more. She later worked at the UConn Co-Op for numerous years.
Maureen leaves behind daughters Jennifer (Gabriel) and Elizabeth (Damon); grandchildren Esther and Ryan; brother James Gall (Linda) of Walden, N.Y., and many caring friends and neighbors.
Blanche M. Currier
PUTNAM — Blanche M. (Seyford) Currier, 91, of Putnam, died Nov. 21, 2021.
Blanche was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Ernest York Seyford and Jane Farrell Seyford on Dec. 12, 1929. She married Earl D. Currier on Feb. 7, 1948, in Brooklyn, N.Y. They were married for 52 years before his passing in 2000.
Blanche had a great sense of humor and was always fun to be around. She enjoyed traveling with her daughter Kathy and granddaughter Jayne and was ready to go anywhere with a minute’s notice. One of her favorite places to visit was her grandson Brandon’s house in North Carolina. She also enjoyed going to the movies, out to eat, shopping, music, family parties and dancing. Blanche loved spending time with friends in Florida at her winter home in Zephyrhills and was so happy to have family visit her there so she could bring them to Disney World and other Florida attractions to help make their vacation special.
She leaves daughters, Kathy Carter (Keen) of Putnam and Judith Hendrickson of Brooklyn, Conn.; grandchildren (who affectionately called her Bamie), Jayne LeDuc (Paul), Brandon Carter (Erica), Jeremy Hendrickson (Tanya), Eric Hendrickson and Jason Joslin; great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn Carter, Kayelei Carter, Summer Carter, Lila Hendrickson, Brody Hendrickson, Amelia Hendrickson, Briar Hendrickson and Eliza Joslin; nieces and nephews. Besides her parents and husband, Blanche was predeceased by her brother Ernest F. Seyford and her grandson, Christopher P. Carter.
The Funeral Services were private. Donations: Alzheimer’s Association. (www.alz.org). Shaw Majercik Funeral Home, Webster.
..