Mary Frances (Charron) Schlaefer

Obituary SCHLAEFER, MARY FRANCES Age 95, May 11, 1923 - January 25, 2019, Lincoln, New Hampshire. After spending many serene years with daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Brian Gallagher, in Sanbornton, NH and then at St. Francis Nursing Home in Laconia, NH, Mary “Fran” passed away peacefully with family by her side. Better known as Fran and “Peanut” to her close friends, Mary was born in Long Pond, Maine. She was one of 3 children born to the late Eugenia and Fred T. Charron. As a family they moved to Lincoln, NH, where Fran lived most of her life. Fran was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Lincoln High School (Class of ’41). As a young woman, Fran served as a personal secretary in Washington, D.C. to NH Congressman Sherman Adams shortly before he became President Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff. She met and married Herman “Dick” Schlaefer, a career Navy man, in 1946. After traveling with him to assignments in Florida, Rhode Island, Virginia and Japan, they returned to Lincoln with their 4 young children. Fran and Dick went on to have 4 more children, of whom were raised in Lincoln. While raising her 8 children, Fran was an active member of Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church and served as a bookkeeper for the Lin-Wood Cooperative School District. After most of her children had graduated from high school and left home, she worked for 12 years at the First NH Bank in Lincoln. In the 1990s, after the child rearing task was reduced, she and her husband began spending more and more time in sunny Albuquerque, NM. They eventually moved there full-time and stayed for several years. However, in 2012, upon the death of her loving husband of 65 years, Fran returned to NH. Fran will forever be remembered by her loving children: Kurt Schlaefer, Kent Schlaefer, Karen Gallagher, Mary Kay James, Genie Smith, Mark Schlaefer, John Schlaefer and Tracey Brumlik; 18 treasured grandchildren, 9 loving great grandchildren and countless other family members and friends. Fran was known for her outgoing, friendly personality, as well as her wonderful sense of humor. She was a skilled seamstress and never tried a craft that she didn’t love and master, which she enjoyed and shared with others through her final days. She was a woman of deep faith, and was a positive and loving influence on her family, friends, and community. We kept her with us for as long as we could, but she is now where she has wanted to be for some time; re-united with her husband and her family and seeing first-hand the splendors of her faith. We are left with many wonderful memories of Fran. She will be deeply missed. Memorial services will be held on July 20, 2019 at 10:00 AM in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lincoln, NH, 25 Church St., immediately followed by a celebration of her life. In lieu of flowers, those who wish my send donations to Saint Francis Rehab and Nursing Center, Laconia, NH 03246 (for the employees). To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Frances (Charron) Schlaefer, please visit our floral store.

Tributes

Mary Frances (Charron) Schlaefer

May 11, 1923 - January 25, 2019