Helen Frances Rehwaldt

Having been born in New Haven, Fran had a deep and abiding love for the ocean and all the things you can eat from it, especially full bellied Ipswich Clams. After graduating from Albertus Magnus College in 1963 she left the shore and moved from New Haven to DC where she had been accepted to the School of Social Work at Catholic University. Upon receiving her Masters in Social Work she launched a decades long career starting at Catholic Charities and ending at Groome Center. She excelled at helping youth and families survive difficult circumstances and found deep meaning in her work.

During her time in grad school, she befriended a young woman from Muscatine, IA. When the time came for her to be married, she asked Fran to be a bridesmaid and put her up in the home of long time family friends, Helen and Charles Rehwaldt. Here, she met her future husband, their son, Chad. Being absolutely convinced that they would be married after just a few days of knowing each other, Fran left a note for Chad upon her departure that included her ring size. After a long distance romance facilitated mostly by the USPS, an engagement occurred and Fran convinced Chad to move to DC. They were married in New Haven in 1970 and bought their first home in Glover Park, DC. They moved to AU Park in 1977 which remained the family home until 2020.

At some point around 1985, Fran decided it was time to move on from the high stress and low pay of social work and started to explore a second career. Having considered interior design, she finally settled on real estate which gave her an opportunity to engage in two of her favorite activities: judging other people’s homes and using her social work skills to help families make good decisions under stressful circumstances. She was proud to have helped dozens of individuals and families become first time home buyers, often forgoing high commissions on expensive properties to help folks buy and sell more modest condos and homes. She truly loved her two careers and developed lifelong friendships with exceptional people in both. She also loved Diet Pepsi and Salem Lights, having survived most of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s on this diet which was frequently subsidized by white wine and scotch.

Fran was known for her wry sense of humor, well timed sarcasm, keen eye for BS, absolute inability to suffer fools and effortless generosity. She had a highly calibrated bargain radar and the closet to prove it. She loved her family deeply and unconditionally, and stuck by them no matter what. She was preceded in death by her parents Helen and Edward Burland, husband Charles A. Rehwaldt, sister Sister Catherine Burland, great granddaughter Mia Brown and brother in law Michael Rehwaldt. She is survived by her daughters Helen Rehwaldt (Pam Ginsberg) and Katie Rehwaldt (Matt Courtad), her grandson Ian Brown (Alexandra Eller), and her great grandson Jacob Brown.

A funeral service will be held at St. Ann Catholic Church at 10 AM on June 15, 2023 with a reception following at Alley Cat (formerly Chadwick’s). Memorials in Fran’s honor may be made to Albertus Magnus College Fund for Albertus or City Blossoms.