Roselyne Frelinghuysen

Roselyne deViry Frelinghuysen

1920 - 2014 LENOX Roselyne deViry Frelinghuysen, 93, died Feb. 27, 2014, in Princeton, N.J. Roselyne was born on May 20, 1920, in Thonon-les-bains, France. She was the daughter of Baron Joseph Humbert deViry, and granddaughter of Count Maximillien de Foras. Because her grandmother, the Countess de Foras, was American, she spent much of her youth in New York and Lenox, at the homes of her grandmother's American sister, Emily Spencer. She attended the Spence School in New York City and completed her education at convent school in France. She lived with her great Aunt Emily at Shipton Court in Lenox, now the Seven Hills Inn. In the early years of World War II, with men drafted, she pitched in to maintain the house, tending the animals and helping maintain wood fires because of the scarcity of fuel. Roselyne volunteered for the Free French forces under US Army command as an ambulance driver and translator. Chanel had designed their uniforms. She traveled by ship troop carrier to Africa and moved on to Italy, participating in the Anzio landing and the liberation of Rome. She was then deployed in France. She drove on mined roads and once at a fork in the road, was unsure of her directions. She prayed to St. Christopher to guide her and drove on. The jeep after hers took the other fork and exploded. After her demobilization, Roslyne returned to New York City and worked in an art gallery, where she met her husband, Thomas T.K. Frelinghuysen, a sculptor. They lived on his farm in Holmdel, N.J., and raised three children; Theodore, Kinney, and Denis, as well as show dogs, cats, several race horses, and an African grey parrot. They later moved to Princeton, N.J., where Roselyne was active in dog shows, the French club, opera, and the garden club. She enjoyed a curious mind, was always eager for conversation, whimsy, wit, and a good laugh. She was an active member of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence through her ancestor, George Read. Her grandchildren were the love of her life, and she believed that the older generation should support them exposing them to life in many ways as her own great Aunt had done for her. She is survived by ten grandchildren and her sons and their wives. She had a zest for life, an indomitable spirit for fun and we miss her dearly. FUNERAL NOTICE: A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, at 11 a.m. at the Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, N.J.