Sister Fran
Sister Fran was a nun that mom loved and admired very, very much. She died in early 2003. Mom was incredibly happy that Sister Fran got to meet me and my sister before she died.
On the occasion of Sister Fran’s death, mom wrote to a friend, “one of the real dreams of my life the last 15 years or so has been to see Fran and David and Jen in the same room. I so wanted them to get to know one another! I couldn’t really believe it was happening, but it was a gift I’ll treasure always.”
I am not 100% certain — and if someone else could confirm I would appreciate it — but I think that this is Sister Fran’s obituary (taken from this page):
CONWAY, Providence – Maria Frances Conway, RSM, 65, of Jewett Street, founder of the Mary House shelter on Smith Hill, and a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas for the Region of Providence for 48 years, died Monday in the Jane Brown building of Rhode Island Hospital. Born in Pawtucket, a daughter of the late John J. Conway Sr. and Mary F. (Fay) Conway, she entered the Sisters of Mercy on Sept. 8, 1954, in Cumberland. She professed her first vows on Aug. 16, 1957, and her final vows on Aug. 16, 1960. A 1954 graduate of the former Sacred Heart Academy in Pawtucket, she received her bachelor’s degree in 1960 from Mercy College of Education, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and her master’s in education in 1967 from Rhode Island College. She also had earned a lifetime certification in elementary education. Sister Fran began her teaching career in 1959, at the St. Mary School, in Bristol, then went on to the St. Mark School, in Cranston, where she taught for eight years. In 1968, she began a three-year stint as a reading specialist in the West Warwick School Department. In 1971 she became involved in the charismatic movement at St. Patrick Church, in Providence. In 1972, she founded Mary House, a shelter providing food and clothing for the poor and needy on Smith Hill. Sister Fran had been honored by many organizations, over the years — among others, by The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Capitol Hill, for her service to the poor; the University of Rhode Island, for her outstanding service to the needy; and the City of Providence and former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., for her years of community service to the city. “Aunt Betty,” as she was known to her siblings’ many descendants, is survived by two sisters, Barbara A. Frappier and Mary A. Catterall, both of Cumberland; a brother, James T. Conway of Cumberland; 31 nieces and nephews; and several grandnieces and grandnephews, great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews. She was a sister of the late John “Sonny” and John J. Conway, Margaret M. Lambert, Joan E. O’Neil and Frances M. Audette. A concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial will be said on Friday at 10 a.m. in the Mount Saint Rita Convent Chapel, 15 Sumner Brown Rd., Cumberland. A mercy prayer service will be conducted on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in St. Patrick Church, 244 Smith St., Providence. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Cumberland.
Providence RI Journal, Wednesday 12 Feb 2003
January 20th, 2018 @ 1:28 pm
Barbara
Hello, you are most correct that is Aunty Bett’s obit. I am her niece and have to say, like your Mom, blessed to have known someone who I consider a Saint. ( she would be so mad to see that) Auntie Bett always had a wide smile and kind word. Her quick wit and wonderful sense of humor kept us roaring at many family gatherings. She also had a generous, compassionate and spiritual demeanor that drew people to her. Having her and being one of her own has left all of us striving to be like her….something that is a daily struggle!!