Published in the June 19, 2018 edition.
WAKEFIELD — Francine Burke Curran, 72, formerly of Lawrence and Methuen, died after a long battle with dementia on Monday, June 18, 2018 at Wakefield Center, Wakefield. She fought to the end.
She was born on November 17, 1945 to the late Mary Josephine (Keenan) Burke and Francis Burke. She leaves behind her children Stacey Curran and her husband Shawn Conway of Wakefield, son James Curran and his partner, Nia, of Hawaii, her daughter Courtney and her husband, Michael Leahy of Wakefield and her daughter Colleen and her husband Matthew Mehigan of Wakefield as well as her former husband, James Curran of Lawrence. She was a loving, candy-dispensing grandmother to Maeve and Norah Conway, Patrick and Kathleen Leahy and Elinor and Bridie Mehigan, all of Wakefield. She also leaves her St. Patrick’s School friends since first grade: Rita Murphy, Jacqueline Murphy, Mary Lou Curtin and Susan O’Keefe, as well as her friends Joseph Sipsey and Sharon Petralia. She leaves numerous nieces and nephews, whom she loved.
She was pre-deceased by her identical twin sister, infant Camillus, and sisters, Sally Welch and her husband Joseph, her sister Marijo Secord and her husband Donald, and her sister-in-law Elizabeth Curran Cuddy.
Before her illness, Francine loved talking to strangers in the supermarket line, going out to breakfast, renting a cottage at Salisbury Beach and buying apple cream pies from Mann’s Orchard. She hated spiders, loved hosting parties and changed her matching outfits three times a day. She went to Korbanis and the bank more than anyone ever needed to. She could talk on the phone for hours and she couldn’t keep goldfish alive. She rearranged furniture way too often and picked a living room rug the same color as her dog, so she wouldn’t be bothered by his shedding. She sang song lyrics in conversation and drank at least four Coca-Colas a day. She could type a ridiculous amount of words per minute, and she will haunt her children for forgetting how many. She hated to cook, and liked to say she raised her kids in restaurants. Birthday cake was her favorite food. She was a cancer survivor who bragged about her radiation tattoos.
Services will be private. Cremation is being handled by Breen Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, please eat birthday cake when it isn’t your birthday, get something monogrammed, make people laugh or give someone an apple cream pie. For online condolences and other information please visit us at www.breenfuneralhome.com.
