Frances Irene Lafond

Glendive, Montana: Frances Irene Lafond, age 92 died peacefully on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at Glendive Medical Center Extended Care facility. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, November 14, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. Frances was born September 19, 1918 in Glasgow, MT to James Cyrus and Lillian Johnson. She married Cecil Lafond on Jan. 7, 1940 in Malta, MT and in 1944 they moved to Glendive where they raised their family. Frances enjoyed agate hunting, crosswords, collecting antiques, helping Cecil clerk auction sales and feeding birds in her backyard. She especially enjoyed watching her grandchildren compete in their many sporting events. Frances was an active member of the Moose Club and Hospital Auxiliary. Frances was preceded in death by her husband Cecil in 1994, her son Larry in 2009,her granddaughter Laurie Lafond in 1966, her grandson Matt Siegle in 2010; her parents, 2 sisters and 4 brothers. She is survived by one son, Bill (Kathy) LaFond of Glendive and two daughters, Leah (Richard) Joritz of Bismarck, ND and Lynnette Siegle of Belgrade, MT; her daughter-in-law Judi Lafond of Lincoln, NE; two sisters Lillian Lane of Sidney, MT and Ruth Teela of Ferndale, WA; along with 13 grandchildren, 34 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com “The best portions of a good person’s life are the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” (William Wordsworth) Frances Irene Lafond demonstrated this simple wisdom day in and day out during her 92 years of life. Frances was not a person who spoke of her love for those around her, or showed it with hugs and kisses. Frances instead showed her love with her caring ways, and a constant watchfulness to see what she could do for her family and others to make their day, easier, better. In her quiet, reserved manner, Frances was the presence in the lives of her family who took care of the day-to-day details; she provided support and any help needed for whatever was important in the lives of her husband, her children, her grandchildren. For Frances, everyone’s needs and wants were much more important than any she might have for herself. Frances began her life in a large but poor family. She was the 4th oldest of nine children. Her mother, Lillian, died giving birth to a baby boy when Frances was about 10. Frances’ father, Cyrus, couldn’t manage the large family, and took them to stay at an aunt and uncle’s home. Frances’ sister Lillian recalls during that difficult time, another sister, Ruth, waking up nights, crying for her mother. Lillian can remember Frances taking Ruth outside at night and pointing up to a star, saying, “there’s our mama.” Frances’ brothers and sisters were given out to other families and relatives, to live with. Cyrus found families for Frances to live with where she could earn her room and board. Frances was shuffled around staying with various families, sometimes ending up back with her father. It was a sad childhood and Frances did not care to remember it or share those memories with others. Eventually, Frances ended up in Kalispell with an aunt and uncle. As a young woman, she had a job there as a golf caddy, a job she enjoyed. Frances met Cecil Lafond and they were married in 1940. Frances and Cecil moved to a farm near Glendive in the mid forties, and they spent the rest of their lives living, working and raising their family in the Glendive. Frances loved living on the farm. Leah remembers long walks she and her mother would take, and how her mother enjoyed caring for the sheep. Frances and Cecil lived a simple life together. Their family included four children, daughter Leah and son Larry, and after several years, then came son Bill and daughter Lynnette. Frances was the ultimate homemaker of her generation, caring for home and family, while Cecil was the bread winner, the social face of the pair, the one who was in charge of major decisions and the money. For many years, Frances didn’t drive. Cecil would drive her wherever she needed to go. He would drive her to the grocery store, Frances would shop, Cecil would pay, and then he would take her home. It wasn’t until the early seventies that Frances took a driving course offered by the college and began to drive herself. When it came to disciplining the kids, she would just say, “wait until your father gets home,” and when Cecil would get home, he would administer the discipline. Frances kept busy around the home raising the children and later helping take care of grandchildren. She was a good cook and excellent baker. A favorite memory of Bill’s was coming home from his first day at school and finding that his mother had made his favorite, caramel rolls with walnuts on top. Lynnette recalls that when she would get home from school there was usually a bowl of bread dough sitting by the window, raising, and how she would pinch off a little of the dough and eat it. Frances also kept busy sewing, making clothes for her children. Sewing was a favorite activity, and Frances worked as a volunteer with the GMC hospital auxiliary. Frances would help mend and hem clothing at the Attic, and would work on the costumes for the auxiliary’s Fractured Follies production. Another interest Frances had was gardening. She always maintained a garden and between the vegetables from the garden and the fruit from the trees and bushes, Frances kept busy with the harvest and canning. She also canned deer meat brought in by the men. The times Frances worked outside of her home was during the harvest of the sugar beets, when she would run the scale at the beet dump, a job she enjoyed. Frances also helped Cecil clerk at area auctions. This was a task Frances enjoyed because she had a passion for antiques, and the auctions allowed her an opportunity to find some treasures. She loved collecting antiques, especially antique baskets, and refinishing antique furniture, and had many books about antiques, their history and their worth. This passion for antiques is a gift Frances passed onto several grandchildren. Grandson Matt Siegle received a plate from his grandmother that had belonged to Frances’ mother. Matt won tickets to the “Antique Roadshow,” and it was an exciting time when he and his mother, Lynnette, went to Billings to the “Roadshow” with the plate. Frances and Cecil were avid dancers, waltz, polka, square dancing, and would spend Saturday nights with friends, at the Glendive Elks club enjoying the music and dancing. They played a lot of cards, whist and pinochle, and for a time, Frances was in a bridge club. Frances continued her enjoyment of walking in the country by spending hours with Cecil and the family agate hunting in the hills. Frances loved birds and animals. There was always a pet dog and a pet bird. And Frances watched birds daily in the yard. She had many books about birds on hand to help her identify the different kinds. Eventually, Frances got a pair of binoculars for her birdwatching. However, the binoculars came in handy in other ways. Bill and his family lived across the alley from his parents and Frances could also keep a good eye on them. There were times she would call in the late evening and remind them their lights were still on. They would reply that “yes, they were still up.” Granddaughter Heidi’s boyfriend, and future husband lived across the street from Frances, and Heidi just knew that grandma always had a good idea of what time he would get in from their dates. Frances enjoyed the challenge of crossword puzzles and would work the one in the Billings Gazette each day. She loved the television show “Jeopardy” and all the family thought she should have been on it, as she was really good at the questions. Living in a baseball family, Frances was an avid fan. She supported Cecil in his involvement in Glendive’s baseball, his efforts to establish the Babe Ruth league. She was a huge fan of both her sons’ playing and coaching, and of her grandchildren playing the game, although as Haley reported, grandma had some concerns about Haley playing baseball with the boys. Frances went to all their baseball and softball games, followed all their wrestling and tennis matches, supported any activity they participated in. Once in awhile, if one of the grandkids wasn’t having a good day, she might make a comment about how rough the other kids were, or how the refs were unfair. Frances was very defensive and protective of her family. But she was as proud of their accomplishments. Frances was a very active volunteer in our community. She was a member of a Homemaker’s club. She spent 40 plus years as a member of the Women of the Moose. Her work for the GMC auxiliary has been mentioned. A benefit of working at the Attic was all the treasures Frances found as “perfect gifts” for family members. They chuckle when they tell how these “treasures” often ended up back at the Attic. Frances was also a staunch Republican. She worked with the Republican women promoting the party and its candidates, and she would serve as an election judge during elections. She was one of those volunteer workers who quietly and proficiently got things done. Frances’ life was dedicated to caring for others, serving others. She was truly dedicated to her family. Frances was the main caregiver to her mother-in-law, Ora Lafond. And after her children were grown with families of their own, Frances remained available to them for any help they might need. She helped Lynnette out on the Siegle farm many times. And she was always there for her grandchildren, and she was one of their chief sources of support and their biggest fan. Some of the grandchildren’s memories of their grandmother have been shared with you already, but that only scratched the surface. Bill’s family and Lynnette’s family grew up with their grandmother being a large part of their lives. They are rich with memories of grandma. All the grandkids accused Cole of being her favorite. He could do no wrong. Granddaughter Tracy called her grandparent’s home a “second home.” It was where family gathered and because Tracy’s family lived on a farm, when there were activities at school, Tracy and her siblings often stayed in town with grandma and grandpa. Something Tracy recalls when playing cards or doing puzzles with grandma and grandpa was the way her grandfather would tease and flirt with her grandmother, and how grandma just tried to ignore it, as if it wasn’t proper in front of the children. Grandma was not very religious, and near the end, granddaughter Haley was worried about her spiritual state, so Haley asked a minister to stop at the nursing home to visit Frances. The minister did so and talked at length to Frances about spiritual things. Frances just listened quietly. When he finally finished and had left, Frances said “I thought he was never going to leave!” Daughter Leah felt her mother found her spiritual connection in music. Frances loved to sing. She never lost that love, but because of her failing eyesight in the late years of life, Frances did lose the ability to read the words to the songs. Losing her eyesight was very difficult for Frances as it ended her ability to sew, read, and do crosswords. Frances was diagnosed with Lewy’s Body dementia and she spent the last four years of her life in the nursing home. But it was there that she began to express her love to family with hugs and words of love. She most enjoyed visits from the great-grandchildren, and amazingly would play with them and just loved to listen to them read to her. She insisted that the babies or youngest child be placed closest to her. Even the dementia could not take away her love and enjoyment of family. Today as we honor Frances and grieve her journey away from us, what remains in our hearts are all the “little, nameless acts of kindness and love” she so generously gave to all around her. Maybe comfort can be found by looking skyward at night as Frances once did. “Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.” (author unknown) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frances Irene Lafond

September 19, 1918 - November 14, 2010

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Frances Irene Lafond

September 19, 1918 - November 14, 2010

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