Frances Henrietta Lyons

Frances was born in San Francisco on November 9, 1906. She was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel J. Lyons, daughter, Barbara F. Gaffey, and siblings Emil E. “Lulu” Dolle, Louise “Nene” Christenson, Marie “Tadie” Barr, Jerome Dolle and Frank V. Dolle.

Known to family and friends as “Tiny Gram,” Frances is survived by her four grandchildren and their spouses, Michael Gaffey (Pauline) of Fremont, CA; Patrick Gaffey (Anne) of East Lyme, CT; Mary Quinn (Robert) of Napa, CA; Daniel Gaffey (Karen) of St. Helena, CA; and 13 great-grandchildren – James, Mark and Mary; Cashel and Daniel; Megan, Brendan, Clare, Michael, Sean, and Joseph; Kevin and Katherine.

The family expresses appreciation to caregiver Maria Maldonado and her husband and children for the tender care and friendship they provided to Frances in recent years.

Frances was the fourth of six children born to Emilie and Francois Xavier Dolle. Her parents were immigrants from the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, settled in San Francisco and established a family farm in St. Helena in 1914. Frances attended Lodi Lane School in St. Helena and Farragut Grammar School and Polytechnic High School in San Francisco. After going to work for an insurance company in the City’s financial district, she met her future husband at lunch in the Mills Building where they were both employed.

They were married in 1927 at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in San Francisco. Frances was an active parishioner of St. Brendan’s in San Francisco and later St. Helena Catholic Church.

She learned to drive in her 40s, enrolled in aerobics and college classes in her 80s and lived independently until the age of 105.

An accomplished artist and seamstress, she excelled in a variety of ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬fine and decorative arts, including oil painting, decoupage, Ikebana, dressmaking, quiltmaking, china painting, sewing and needlepoint.

The Rosary will be said at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 11 at St. Helena Catholic Church, 1340 Tainter Street. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 12 at All Souls Church, 315 Walnut Avenue, South San Francisco, followed by burial at 12:00 at Holy Cross Cemetery, 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA.

Please visit www.MorrisonFuneralChapel.com to offer condolences. Gifts in memory of Frances can be made to St. Anthony’s Kitchen in San Francisco or Napa Valley Hospice.