Frances E. Roche

Frances “Franny” Roche of Marblehead, Massachusetts, died in Orlando, Florida on May 10, 2015 after a life well-lived. She was 91. Fran was born on March 9, 1924, to Aurelia and Donald Batchelder. She was the fourth child and first daughter of six siblings. She graduated from Danvers High School and decades later, earned her bachelors degree at Salem State College, with her family, friends and four grandchildren in attendance.

Franny was a force of nature who stayed active until her final few years; in those years she was cared for with love by her daughters Aurelia Nelson and Heidi Peckham and her granddaughter Alicia Peckham Rose.

Though not a born Marbleheader, Franny had a deep love for the town that began with her marriage to Thomas J. “Joe” Roche in 1943. In the 1950’s, she and Joe owned several businesses, including “The Spirit of 76” on Marblehead Harbor. She was involved in town politics and among a cadre of locals who unsuccessfully fought the closing of the maternity ward at the Mary Alley Hospital in the early 1960’s because it would mean there would be no more “real Marbleheaders.” She wrote for several years for the old Marblehead Messenger. Franny loved judging Marblehead’s Fourth of July Horribles parade, a cold beer with friends at the Gerry 5, and a walk around Brown’s Island or Black Joe’s Pond. She waitressed at the Boston Yacht Club, Dill’s, and Maddie’s, where she once got famed Boston Globe columnist George Frazier’s autograph on a cocktail napkin.

Fran enjoyed books, art and learning something new. She and her partner, the late John Glacken, enjoyed traveling, and the courses and friendships made at the Harvard Institute for Lifelong Learning. But Fran was no snob: she was the proud mother of three UMass Amherst alumni. She particularly loved time with all her grands: ten grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter, all of whom will miss their “Nany-Franny.”

Frances is survived by two sisters, Elinor Wells of Peabody, Mass., and Mary Burke of Danbury, Conn. She leaves behind four daughters: Sandy Roche of Enid, Oklahoma; Heidi Peckham of Orlando, Florida; Barbara J. Roche of Rowe, Mass.; and Aurelia Nelson of Beverly, Mass. ;daughter-in-law, Cecilia Roche of Santa Barbara, California and three sons-in-law: David W. Peckham, Orlando, Florida; Dan Wessman of Rowe, Mass.; and Bob Nelson of Beverly. She is predeceased by her husband Thomas J. Roche; and two sons, Thomas J. Roche, Jr. and Timothy C. Roche.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 85 Atlantic Avenue, Marblehead on Friday, June 5 at 10AM. Burial to follow in Waterside Cemetery, Marblehead. Relatives and friends respectfully invited. Visiting hours will be held in the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home, 142 Elm Street, Marblehead on Thursday, June 4 from 4-8PM.