AnnaMay Crimmin

AnnaMay Franson was born at 13 Madison Street in Woburn, Massachusetts, on March 16, 1929. Since her parents didn't have a crib for their newborn daughter, they put her in a bureau drawer until her father (a carpenter) got around to building another bed.
She was the youngest of seven children all born at home to Swedish immigrants (Emma and Sune) who met at Woburn's Lutheran Church. Her father worked at the Quincy Shipyard, built the family home, and later built homes for four of his children.
AnnaMay was a "straight A" performer throughout her life: athletic, attractive, adventurous, and accomplished. During high school, she played softball and basketball for the Woburn teams and had a job modeling for Jordan Marsh. Her active lifestyle had her skiing Tuckerman Ravine just before graduation and looking for a job in Boston shortly thereafter. When she walked into the Dane & Howe law firm, they hired her on the spot.
Shortly after her graduation from Woburn High School, she met her future husband, Royce Crimmin, at a dance at Weirs Beach, New Hampshire. That summer evening, as she stood on a balcony overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee, she told her girlfriends, "Tonight I met the man I'm going to marry." She always had a great intuition. The next night, she and Royce had dinner in Laconia at the home of her future mother-in-law, and shortly thereafter they visited Woburn to make sure that AnnaMay's family approved of her choice (of course they did). The Fransons were quite protective of their youngest, so they put Royce through the third degree!
They married in September 1949 and went on to have five children. She wore a satin wedding dress to the ceremony-which she had found in Filene's Basement for only $19!-and that was the start of a lifetime of enjoyable thrift shopping and bargain-hunting, which is apparently in the family DNA.
AnnaMay was known for her cheerful disposition, her big and generous heart, and her wide circle of friends of all ages. She was at her best at large gatherings featuring her favorite things in life: family, friends, and great food. Her legacy was summed up by her son Stephen: "Aside from all of us becoming huge bargain hunters, we inherited the blessing of growing up in a secure, loving home on South Williams Street in Bradford. This precious gift has been passed on to 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, and it has been reinforced by our loving spouses."
"Mazie" had something strongly in common with Walt Whitman, who famously wrote, "A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books." She was no metaphysician, but she had a great knack for being able to appreciate life's simple pleasures: one morning-glory in a bud vase on her breakfast table; some warm sunshine on her face after a long New England winter; a perfectly baked Swedish coffee bulla; and an afternoon cocktail, which always caused her to smack her lips in enjoyment after the first sip.
She enjoyed many creative hobbies over the years-especially sewing, cooking, and gardening-and was an active member of many social groups. She had an impressive collection of Swedish folk art-including trolls, Tomten, gnomes, and Dala horses-that was much admired by the many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who visited her often.
Her lifelong athleticism included skiing and skating with the family and occasionally canoeing down the Merrimack River. Her children have fond memories of family camping trips every summer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and at Wabanaki Campground on the shores of Ossipee Lake, where her large extended family gathered every summer.
AnnaMay started playing golf around age 50 and enjoyed that sport for the next 30 years. She played in leagues with women half her age, competed in Pro-Am competitions, traveled to Masters tournaments, bragged relentlessly about her only hole-in-one, and had a secret crush on Arnold Palmer, whose name she pronounced with her Boston accent: AH-nee. She visited beautiful golf courses in Scotland and Ireland and especially loved the Old Courses at Ballybunion and St. Andrews.
After Royce's retirement, she became his partner in adventure. They traveled by train to the Canadian Rockies, hauled an RV from Massachusetts to Alaska, drove across New Zealand in a camper van, and visited the fjords of Norway. In 2005, she finally visited her ancestral homeland (Sweden), accompanied by her son David and his children.
She and Royce were married for 72 years until his death in 2022.
We will greatly miss her charm, warmth, laughter, and generous spirit. We will also miss the dinner parties she hosted-especially the Christmas smorgasbord-and her many funny anecdotes about growing up in a big and loving family.
Survivors include her son Stephen (Pattie Salerno) of Bradford; son Peter (Panit Satyasai) of Watertown; daughter Carla (Douglas Pope) of Charlestown; and daughter Heidi (Peter Curtiss) of Boulder, Colorado. Her oldest son, David, died in 2012; David's wife is the artist Cindy Crimmin of Acton. AnnaMay was much loved by her 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, along with dozens of nieces and nephews, many of whom reside in Woburn, Massachusetts, where the Franson family began. She was predeceased by her six siblings: Al and Burt Franson, Greta Hellmer, Ruth Haggerty, Hellen Jonsson, and Ethel Stokes.
Services will be private and at the convenience of the family. Arrangements are by the H.L. Farmer & Sons Funeral Homes, Bradford-Haverhill.
To share a memory or for more information, please visit www.farmerfuneralhomes.com.