FRANCES SCHAFER obituary

Frances Helen Schafer, 87, a lifetime resident of Havre, died of natural causes Monday, Dec. 26, 2005, at Northern Montana Care Center.

Her rosary will be at St. Jude's Catholic Church at 7 p.m. Thursday with a funeral Mass to be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Jude's Catholic Church with the Rev. Robert D. Grosch officiating. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery. A fellowship luncheon will be held at the St. Jude Parish Center immediately after the graveside service.

Frances was born Sept. 21, 1918, to Ed and Anna Bough north of Havre, where she attended St. Joe School. She graduated from Havre High School in 1936.

On Sept. 13, 1941, she married Alvin T. Schafer and they farmed north of Havre, two miles from where she grew up.

Frances was a member of the Lay Order of Franciscans and an avid senior citizen volunteer. She was 1988 Senior Citizen of the Year for the state of Montana. She also crocheted numerous pair of mittens for the Head Start children every year. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters and was currently a volunteer at the North Central Senior Citizens Center.

Frances was also one of a group of community members from north of Havre who worked together and published a book about the area called “Always the Wind.” Another favorite thing for Frances was going to Mass and breakfast with the God squad.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin T. Schafer; and sister, Margaret McKinnie.

Survivors include her sisters, Annamae Somers of Havre, and Evelyn Baird and Dorothy (Ed) Majerus of Lewistown; children, Kathy Bessette of Havre, Jim (Allyson) Schafer of Fort Collins, Colo., Jean (LaMond) Duffin of Van Buren, Ark., Joan Schafer, Mimi (Tom) Heydon and Barb Schafer, all of Fort Benton, Pat (Brad) Nemitz of Ulm and Pam (Ken) Nugent of Warrensburg, Mo .; 17 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Memorials in Fran's honor can be made to the St. Jude Parish Center, P.O. Box 407, or to the Hill County Council on Aging, 2 Second St. W., Havre, MT 59501.