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Arthur France

1934 - 2014

Arthur France obituary, 1934-2014, Farmington, CT

BORN

1934

DIED

2014

FUNERAL HOME

Ahern Funeral Home, Inc - Unionville

111 Main St.

Unionville, Connecticut

Arthur France Obituary



Arthur France, 80, of Farmington, passed away on Thursday, Aug. 21st, 2014 at Apple Rehab in Plainville. He was born on May 23rd, 1934 in Windham, CT, son of the late Herbert France and Florence (Miller) France and was raised in Unionville. Art graduated from Farmington High School, Class of 1952; was a veteran of the Korean War in the Coast Guard, and was an animal lover, chicken & dairy farmer, master carpenter and painter, wallpaper hanger, inventor, trained to be a small plane pilot and was a Life Scout and former Scout Leader of his Troop in Unionville and Scout Master of Troop 6 in Bristol. He was an avid chess player and the nurses at Apple Rehab could always find him with his good friend Donald, playing chess for many hours a day. He loved to listen to the Boston Red Sox games on the radio and was a fan of Bob Steele's word of the day. He loved music and sang in his church choir. He was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol, and then the First Church of Christ Congregational in Unionville. He taught himself to play the piano, entertaining his friends by playing jazz at Bill's Seafood in Westbrook for many years. He enjoyed many good meals in almost every diner and donut shop in Connecticut, especially the Applewood Restaurant in Bristol and will be sorely missed by all of his favorite waiters and waitresses. He was the tallest of his 5 siblings, at 6 foot 4 inches, and had a size 16 EEEE foot, so finding footwear was a test for him all of his life but he didn't need a ladder to paint ceilings on the job, so it came in handy to be so tall. He had a ready smile and was known for his sense of humor and made people laugh wherever he went. He was very creative, building houses and additions for his customers and making wooden toys, bird houses and earrings for his friends and family. He was always ready and willing to help a friend and went out of his way to give people the shirt off his back and would drop everything to help someone in need. Arthur is survived by his wife Beverly (Gunther) France. Art had 5 children with his first wife, Leona (Sullivan) France who predeceased him in 1981 and leaves his daughter Tracy and Eric Carlson; his sons: David France; Daniel and Terese France; Dennis and Laura France all of Bristol; and Dean France and Robin Chegini of Wallingford. He also leaves his siblings: Herbert France of MA; Kurt and Carol France of CA; Doris Hagood of VA; his sister-in-law Nancy France of CT; his in-laws: Guy & Diane Gunther of CT and FL. He leaves his step-children and their spouses; Heather and Gary Rackliffe, Matthew and Donna Jones, Gale and Joe Balavender, Mark Jones and Holly Fisher. He leaves his grandchildren: April Lee Street; Michael Carlson; Christopher; Justin; D'Anna; Katie and Ryan France; Jessica and Rebecca Donovan; Selena Norton; Michael and Christopher Rackliffe; Matt and Glenn Jones; Jonathan; Zachary and Aubrey Fisher and great grandchildren: Jason; Justin; Makayla; Allyson; Jonathan; Joshua and Audrey; and his nieces and nephews: Stuart; Jennifer and John France; Kim-Ann Cybulski; Amanda, Kevin and John Hagood; Roger, Eric and Kirsten France; and Kimberly Greene. He was predeceased by his brother Bill France of Unionville, sister-in-laws, Betsy and Bea France, brother-in-law Lindsey Hagood and niece, Susan France. He will be dearly missed by his good friends, Mary, Donald, Annette, and Jeannie. The family sincerely appreciates the visits by Pastor Joseph Ekeberg for the last two years, the tender loving care of the emergency room doctors and nurses at UConn Medical Center and Newington and West Haven Veterans Hospitals: Dr. Margaret Rathier, Dr. Bea Tendler, the VA Homecare nurses; Kathy and Joanne; Dr. Glazer and his nurses Linda, Carleen and Lori at Apple Rehab along with all of his wonderful aides and physical therapists too numerous to name here. They all took such good care of him and he cared for them too and truly appreciated all that they did for him. For that, we thank you so much for making his last days dignified and loving, right to the very end. Friends may call at The Ahern Funeral Home, 111 Main St., Route 4, Unionville, on Sunday, August 24th from 4-7 pm. The Funeral Service will be held on Monday, August 25th at 11 am at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 355 Camp St., Bristol, CT. Donations in memory of Art can be sent to the First Church of Christ Congregational, 61 Main St, Unionville, CT 06085; to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 355 Camp St, Bristol or to the CT Audubon Society, 314 Quowa Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. To send online condolences to the family, please visit www.ahernfuneralhome.com.

Published by Hartford Courant on Aug. 23, 2014.
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2 Entries

So sorry for your loss Tracy. My condolences to you and your family at this sad time.

Connie Gabor

August 23, 2014

Art, Dad, Grandpa,
Will miss your quick wit and sense of humor,.
Love you dearly, will miss you greatly- you touched a lot of hearts, give our loved ones in heaven a kiss and hug for us!
Love you,!!
Laura

Laura France

August 23, 2014

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Memorial Events
for Arthur France

Aug

24

Calling hours

4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Ahern Funeral Home, Inc - Unionville

111 Main St. Rt. 4, Unionville, CT 06085

Aug

25

Funeral service

11:00 a.m.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

355 Camp St., Bristol, CT

Funeral services provided by:

Ahern Funeral Home, Inc - Unionville

111 Main St. Rt. 4, Unionville, CT 06085

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