Frances Maxine Gajewski

Frances Maxine Gajewski (aka, Fran) was born July 26, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan to Edward and Genevieve Kwasniewski. She had one older sibling, her sister, Virginia Miles. Frances lived in the same house in Detroit on Infantry Street for 65 years of her life. Frances married Thomas Leon Gajewski in 1960. After marrying, her and her husband moved in with her husband's mom for two years, and then with Thomas's brother, Stanley. While married they had two children, Linda Marie and Robert Alan. They separated in 1965 and finally divorced in 1985.
Fran went to school at Holy Redemer Catholic School in Detroit. She finished school in 1958 with a certificate. Fran never learned to drive a car so either walked or bused to destinations. She was a stay-at-home mom who worked at Holy Redeemer as a lunch lady and was also girl scout troop leader. She would also work at the annual Spring carnival at Holy Redeemer as a funny clown. She then worked at McDonald's on Vernor in Detroit from 1970 to 1990. Although it was a meager salary, she made sure to send her children to Catholic school to make sure her children received a Christ centered education. After leaving McDonalds, she decided to achieve a personal goal by going back to school and completing her GED. At that time her mother Genevieve became ill and sadly passed away in May 1991 before she can see her daughter graduate. She then decided to follow her passion for healthcare and go to school for Medical Assistant program, completing the program in 1993. During this time, she volunteered and worked at the patient information desks at Children's Hospital. She then became hostess at Olgas kitchen at the Renaissance center and then decided to pursue a career switch by becoming a security guard by the Michigan Central Train station by monitoring the border. She finally decided to get employment closer to home by working as a cashier at CVS, where she made some good friends that were like family, she took her job seriously but also had fun doing it. After much persuasion from her daughter, she decided to leave Detroit and move to Rochester Hills to Avon Towers in 2010, at that time she decided to retire and enjoy her family and make new friends. She loved it because she was only a few miles from her daughter. Fran always made friends no matter where she lived because she was a sweet, outgoing positive person. People knew and loved Fran. While living at Avon Towers she wouldn't forget anyone's birthday or any holiday, making sure that nobody was forgotten on their birthday or holiday by posting handmade cards on all tenants' doors. Also, while at Avon Towers she made sure to get her steps in. She would let her daughter and grandchildren know how many steps each day and week she walked. She was so successful she was featured in the Health Alliance Plan health magazine for her fitness goals.
Fran's hobbies were walking, watching football, though college football, especially U of M, was her favorite. Her other passion was weather; she would also get the Farmer's Almanac and track weather patterns and share with her family and friends. She truly enjoyed her family, especially her grandchildren, often having special Easter and Christmas celebrations. In her later years she found a fondness for watching professional golf. Her and her son-in-law, Richard, watched a lot of football and golf together.