Fraffie Welch Obituary

Name: Memorial service for Fraffie Welch
Start: 2017-03-25T15:00:00.000Z
Location: St. Michaels Church

Fraffie (Frances E.) Welch. Born March 21, 1937 (Boston, MA). Passed away just shy of her 80th birthday on March 13th, after losing her battle with cancer. She is survived by her two brothers Tom Welch (Paia, HI), Evan Welch (Northwood, NH) and sister Annie Bartol (Cotuit, MA). She attended Winsor School (Boston, MA), Shore Country Day School (Beverly, MA), Westover School (Middlebury, CT) and graduated Marblehead High School. After high school she worked briefly in Boston before joining the U.S. Navy. It was in the Navy (stationed in Newport, RI) where she began her love for journalism working on the staff of The Newport Navalog. Post Navy Fraffie had several communications jobs | WTSN radio (Dover, NH), WESX radio (Marblehead) and finally for The Marblehead Reporter, as a paste up artist in the real estate advertising department. Bob Triplet (then publisher) offered her a position as Sales Manager and she helped transform the paper in a year from 16 to 52 pages. She moved from Marblehead to Maine briefly, but was drawn back to Marblehead by Bill Wasserman to help start Mass Bay Antiques (as part of the Community Newspaper Company / North Shore Weeklies). Lynn Sears, Editor for The Reporter asked Fraffie (then working in the South Street office) to write a column | and thus Dawn Buckets Up for Air was created and became Frafs passion for 30 years, along with everything Marblehead. This passion for Marblehead, its politics and people moved her to become involved with Parks & Rec Commission (an elected position), Marblehead Forever Committee, the towns Disability Commission, Anchor to Windward, the Council on Aging and the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor (as founder and president). She received several Paul Harris Awards as well as the Virginia Gamage Old Marblehead Improvement Association Award. Her love of family extended to her summering in Vinalhaven, Maine where her family has had a summer residence for over 100 years. The Welch family would like to thank the wonderful media coverage and personal salutes from Everyone Marblehead. A memorial service will take place at St. Michaels Church, 26 Pleasant Street, Marblehead at 11 am on Saturday, May 6th. At Fraffies request, there will be no pubic reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Fraffie Welch Scholarship, Rotary Cub of Marblehead Harbor, PO Box 941, Marblehead, MA 01945. Make checks payable to: RCOMH/Fraffie Welch Scholarship.

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Published by The Marblehead Reporter from Mar. 25 to Apr. 6, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for Fraffie Welch

4 Entries

Christian Hansen

May 6, 2017

Fraf and I connected through her column--I'd been living away from Marblehead for 40 years or so, but Dawn Bucket kept me up to date with the important things happening there. We had lunch whenever I visited town, and corresponded over whatever she'd said in the column that week. We differed greatly in politics, but her love of the US and of Marblehead overrode any differences. I have missed her greatly already, and wish I could be at her memorial service. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

Bill Wasserman

April 4, 2017

Fraffie was unique.Nobody could rival her passion, skill and commitment. When we at North Shore Weeklies acquired the Marblehead Reporter in the l970's , Fraffie came with the package. She was a super saleswoman, and such a whirlwind at selling advertising that we had to employ somebody to follow her around and pick up the pieces. She graduated from sales and ultimately became a columnist. Always she carried the heartbeat of the Marblehead community deep inside, and she wanted her newspaper to reflect that love, that concern, that honesty which would make the newspaper worth having around. And Fraffie never flinched at letting us know when we fell short. They threw away the mold when Fraffie passed, and we are all the poorer for it.

Susan Finigan

March 29, 2017

Fraffie was a gifted and talented women who gave her energy to all her passions. It was my pleasure to have served on the Parks and Recreation Department with her and to read Dawn Bucket each week. As the granddaughter of Eben Weed,owner of the Marblehead Messenger,she helped develop the Marblehead Reporter into a spectacular piece of journalism. She will be missed by all who knew her and whose paths she crossed.

March 26, 2017

My wish for her family and many friends - do treasure your memories of Fraffie, especially those that make you smile or laugh. This May, when I vote, I will miss seeing her at the voting table check in. She always said to me -- "I know you" -- before I even had a chance to give her my name. Fraffie liked us all. Susan Schanning

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