Frances Buffum

Frances O. (Mackintosh) Buffum, age 67, died peacefully at home in Little Compton, RI, after a long battle with cancer. She was the wife of Thomas A Buffum Jr., known more commonly as “Tuck,” for the past 45 years.

Born in Boston, a daughter of the late William and Mary (Osborn) Mackintosh, Franny was raised in Andover and attended Beaver Country Day School, graduating in 1961. Not considered college material by her father, she spent a year in Florence, then ski bummed at Mad River Glen before becoming a secretary for New England Life in Boston. Marrying Tuck Buffum, a Naval Aviator, in 1965, the couple moved often from Florida, to Texas, San Diego, Puget Sound, Japan, and Palo Alto.

Along the way, three children, Nate, Heather, and Timothy were born, and in 1972 they all moved back to the East Coast to be near family. Joining the Junior League of Boston, she worked with battered women, as well as teaching fourth-graders a pilot course in understanding disabilities. In the late 70's, with the kids all in school, Franny became a Real Estate Broker, joining a small firm in Wellesley where she flourished. By the late 80's, although very successful, she found the fun gone as independent firms such as hers were swallowed up by the large national franchises, bringing more structure, rules, and even uniforms. She then left the real estate business to devote her fulltime attention to volunteer opportunities. A major challenge was offered as House Committee Chair for the Sakonnet Golf Club where the dining room had lost money every year for as long as people could remember. Treating this as a fulltime job, she built a team that succeeded in making money in each of the four years she held the position, a feat not repeated since. She enjoyed reminding her father that this had not happened when he had been Club President!

Over the years, Franny held almost every position in the Little Compton Garden Club including: Horticulture Chair, Program Chair, Treasurer, Conservation Chair, and President. She also served as a trustee for Garden in the Woods, and Secretary of the Sakonnet Yacht Club. More recently, she served as Treasurer of the Thursday Thrift Shop, was a member of the Little Compton Town Conservation Committee, and a Deacon of the United Congregational Church.

Surviving in addition her husband, one daughter, Heather Willis and her husband Brian and their children, Eleanor and Henry of Storrs, CT, two sons, Nathaniel Buffum and his wife Abigail and their children, James and Margaret of Wayland, MA and Timothy Buffum of Cambridge MA, two brothers, William Mackintosh and his wife Sheila of Little Compton and Duncan Mackintosh and his wife Annie of Lyme, NH

Her Memorial Service will be held Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 11:00AM in the United Congregational Church, The Commons, Little Compton. Relatives and friends invited. Contributions in her honor may be made to the United Congregational Church, The Commons, P.O. Box 506, Little Compton, RI 02837 or to Dana Faber Cancer Institute 10 Brookline Place, West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445.