Folsom Funeral Service

Frances (Fran) Loretta (Duncklee) Mannino, a resident of Norwood, MA, peacefully died Saturday, October 14, 2023, at High Pointe House, in Haverhill, MA. She was 94. Frances was born in Boston, MA, August 28,1929. Her birth occurred during the first month and year of the Great Depression, during prohibition and when the Roaring Twenties were coming to an end. Her formative years and young adulthood were shaped by the times throughout WWII and into her marriage in the 1950s and motherhood. She was part of “The Greatest Generation,” a generation that developed great resilience in surviving hardship and solving problems. These extraordinary times were influential in molding Fran’s personal values, work ethic, commitment, and character, in addition to many others in her generation. Despite the many families that struggled during the early 20th century, it was a time when Big Band music and dance halls were popular. During her life, Frances lived in the age of rotary telephones, when radio dramas and movie theaters were the most popular source of entertainment, evolving into the age of television, home computers, cell phones, the internet and social media. Frances was gregarious, hardworking, creative and dedicated to her family. When she was 16, she started her career with New England Telephone in Boston as a part time telephone operator. After graduating from Dorchester High School for Girls in 1946 she went on to work full time for the phone company and worked her way into employee supervision, with a 15-year pause in between, helping to raise a family. After the pause, she went back to work for the phone company part time, eventually segueing into full time and finally retiring from NYNEX (formerly New England Telephone now Verizon) after over 30 years of service. Frances was the daughter of George and Florence (Hatch) Duncklee. She was the youngest of three predeceased siblings, a brother, George, and two sisters, Kay and Alberta. In 1950, Frances married Robert M. Mannino (predeceased), a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII. Frances is survived by her four children, Robert Jr. of South Hampton, NH, Marilyn Mannino and her husband Brian Walsh of Hingham, MA, Janice Kent of Yarmouth Port, MA, Lisa Falkson, and her husband Michael of Dedham, MA—seven grandchildren, Sarah, Michael, Joshua, Samuel, Nicolas, Sara and Nina. Frances also loved animals, and her family always had pets at home. As a devoted mother, Frances raised her family during a time when it was commonplace to go to church on Sunday and Sunday school, be home as a family, read the jumbo Sunday newspaper and enjoy an early afternoon dinner with all the fixings, topped off with a scrumptious home-made desert. Then later in the day, Fran was at it again, preparing a light supper for her family, followed by watching Walt Disney and the Ed Sullivan Show. As a full-time mom, she had a passion for cooking and loved to prepare her special recipes and baked goods, many learned from her own mother.

Entertaining family and guests during the holidays and special gatherings and preparing daily family suppers were among the hallmarks of her style. Frances was very creative and enjoyed arts and crafts such as sewing, knitting and fine art. She enjoyed painting landscapes and still-life artwork. While a high school student, she entered her landscape oil painting in the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards competition and won the top honor—the prestigious gold key and a scholarship to art school for her painting. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is both a regional and national competition. In addition, Frances cherished pop-in visits from neighbors and family relatives which she gladly entertained with her prepared culinary treats. She also recorded her family’s holidays, vacations, cookouts, and special events with snap-shot, 8mm movie and video cameras — of her family’s early years when her children and grandchildren were infants, through their adult years. Being raised during the Great Depression, Frances learned to be thrifty and frugal. She was a talented seamstress, making her own and daughters’ clothing as young children. She also liked interior decorating. When the urge sparked her, it was not uncommon for her to paint and wallpaper her home, even into her senior years. She also was an avid reader of books and novels and active in the readings and discussions of the local social book group. Frances also enjoyed traveling, venturing overseas to Europe, as far as New Zealand and the Maine coast on a Windjammer voyage. Frances was very active in her church, Grace Episcopal Church in Norwood, attending Sunday services and the Women’s Guild, the Young at Heart Luncheons and supporting Sunday coffee hours. As one of the parishioner’s stated, “She and her desserts will be missed.” There will be a Memorial Service Saturday, November 11th, 2023 at 1pm at the Forsythe Chapel at Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Avenue, Boston, MA. Donations may be made in her memory to: Grace Episcopal Church, 150 Chapel St., Norwood, MA 02062.

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