Dorothy Ann Fransen

Dot was the middle child of three; with an older sister Nadine and younger brother Bob. She grew up and graduated from high school in Vaughn, where she was active in a wide variety of clubs and musical and social activities. Vaughn was a small railroad and ranching town, where both her parents owned separate retail businesses, serving the community and travelers. Dot worked along side her mother in the department store, stocking and cashiering. She was a natural at customer service, due to her cheerful and chatty personality.

Dot’s mother Lela was a strong and motivating force throughout her life. Her mom’s encouragement and many sacrifices, allowed Dot to attend Pepperdine College in Los Angeles beginning in 1953. With her mother’s support, working summers as a camp counselor and partial scholarships in music and song-leading, Dot earned a bachelors degree in home economics education in 1957.

While at Pepperdine, Dot--the song leader met John Fransen—the scholarship basketball player. According to family legend, their first date almost didn’t happen. Famous for her “tardiness”, Dot kept John waiting in the lobby of her sorority house, finally appearing “at the buzzer”, just as he was about to leave. John paused and “took the shot”; they married and had two children; Curt and Craig, by the time they both graduated. Money was scarce and they both worked hard to stay afloat; living in married student housing for whopping $40/month.

After college Dot and John moved to Orange County and their third child, Cristi came along. John began his coaching and teaching career and Dot held down part-time teaching positions, while raising her young family.

Faith was integral to Dot’s life. She and John joined the young Garden Grove Community Church in the early 1960’s and were active and contributing members, as it grew exponentially and became the Crystal Cathedral. Dot taught Sunday School for many years and later volunteered to staff the church’s well-known crises hotline. Her empathy for people was a true gift. She had the patience and sincerity to listen carefully and gently help those in need.

Dot’s professional career began in earnest when the children grew older, after moving to Mission Viejo in 1968. She began substitute teaching at La Paz Intermediate School and became a full-time home economics teacher there in 1970, a position she excelled at for two decades. Dot loved her students and they loved her. She had an almost magical ability to connect with these young teenagers, especially the ones who were in obvious stress and struggling. She was a safe shoulder to cry on; someone they could trust and lean on. Dot had a mantra for young adolescents, “when they are the hardest to love, you have to love them more”. It worked.

Dot was also a “professional mom”, concurrently with her teaching career. She was a cub-scout leader, swim team taxi driver, Halloween costume maker, birthday party planner and wore the many other hats of a mom raising children in the 60’s and 70’s. John taught and coached full time and always had additional part-time jobs, in order to “make ends meet”. Dot often had the main home role, keeping the household and the children on track. She definitely had her hands full.

Family was the center of Dot’s life. She found time to be close to her parents and her sister Nadine and brother Bob, who lived in other parts of the country. She welcomed and celebrated her many grandchildren and was an active part of their lives. And then came the great grandchildren, which made her giddy with joy in the past few years. Never was there a birthday or holiday forgotten; her cards and letters and texts and phone calls were the glue that held the family close.

Dot and John had many good years of retirement together, after successfully launching their children into adulthood. They spent months each year travelling by RV and camping throughout the west and Canada. A main focus was visiting and staying in touch with relatives and friends. Cruises became regular treats too and often included the family. They knew their good fortunes because of their lifetime of hard work to get there. As a result, they got to enjoy alot of the world together.

Dot had a good, long and productive life. She is remembered for her generosity, caring and faith. While the loss of her sister Nadine last fall and husband John this spring were difficult blows, she was steadfastly figuring out the next phase of her life without them. In her own words, just a few weeks ago she said, “I plan to live to be 100”. It is this spirit and zest for life that she leaves us with. We love and still miss her terribly.