Mary Josephine Frances of Assisi O’Hagan Griffin was born on May 10th, 1926 in Dundalk, County Louth (the wee county), Ireland. Frances, as she was known to her family and friends, was the third of six children born to Patsy Boyd O’Hagan and Owen O’Hagan. The children were Carmel, Agnes, Frances, Patricia, Rory and Grainne. She often recited the names, in order, during the last few years of her life. She was very close to her grandmother, Agnes Grimshaw Boyd.
Frances left Ireland and moved to England to study nursing. She became a registered nurse and moved to New York in 1951 where she practiced nursing at The Doctors’ Hospital on the upper east side of Manhattan. She met Martin Griffin in the Catskill mountains at the Tower View House, East Durham. They married the following year and settled in The Bronx. They raised their children Mary Grainne and Martin (Melissa) in St. Margaret’s parish. They lived in an adjoining house with Martin’s sister Rose Feeley and her family. The families were always close.
In 1980, Martin and Frances retired to Boynton Beach, Florida. They returned to Windham, New York each summer in the Catskill mountains. They had three grandsons, Ian Carleton, Aidan and Russell Griffin. Frances played golf and bridge regularly. She was a Eucharistic Minister and volunteered at nursing homes bringing communion to the residents. Martin and Frances were happily married for 54 years when Martin passed in 2007. She has missed him since. She returned to New York in 2015 to be closer to family.
Visiting hours will be held Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 from 4-8 pm at Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home, 6110 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx NY. Mass will be held Thursday, May 2nd 2019 at 9:45 am at St. Margaret of Cortona Church, Bronx, NY. Committal private.