Fae Franzen

Fae Rae Franzen passed away peacefully and quickly Sunday, April 7, 2024, in her room in Brookdale Senior Living, Orland Park, IL. Fae was born 11/11/1932 in Joliet, IL, the daughter of Leslie and Elizabeth (nee Williams) Hughes. Fae was preceded in death by her husband Walter of 55 years, her mother, her father, and her half-sister Evelyn (Hughes) Krohn. She is survived by 4 children: David Walter (LuAnn) Franzen, Russell Bernard (Ruth) Franzen, Sharon Rose (Roy) Lovegrove, and William Edward Franzen. She is also survived by her 7 grandchildren, Matthew Franzen, Emily (Dan) Niyazov, Sean Lovegrove, Jesse (Samantha) Lovegrove, Michelle (John) Medlin, Megan Franzen, and Madeline (Salvatore) Sierra, as well as 10 great-grandchildren.

Her father, Leslie, an engineer with the EJ&E railroad, doted on Fae; taking her to movies, bought her a pony and a place to graze it and a little wagon that she used to give rides to neighbor children. She attended and graduated from Joliet High School in 1950. During her high school years, she spent free time with her Bergeson cousins and enjoyed singing in Christian Youth organizations and the Chicago High-C Chorale, and played girls basketball and was noted for her ‘quick hands.’ She attended the Joliet Gospel Temple during High School where she met the love of her life Walter E. Franzen, a navy air force veteran. They were married on May 5, 1951, in Joliet.

Fae worked several jobs during her life. She first worked at The Insurance Exchange in Chicago, then after the children were born at Facinelli’s Bakery in New Lenox, where she learned baking skills that she used her entire life. After a short stint as a teller at the First National Bank in Joliet, she started her long-time career as a secretary in the New Lenox Elementary School system. She and Walter retired in 1993 and moved to Lutz, FL, where they owned a house for the next 30 years. Walter passed away in 2006, and Fae continued to live at her Lutz, FL address until April 2023, when a stroke forced her to move to an assisted living facility near the greatest concentration of her relatives in Illinois.

Fae will be remembered for her delicious baked goods. She operated a cottage wedding/birthday cake business out of her homes in New Lenox, IL and Lutz, FL over the years. She also presented baked goods to friends and family for years just because. Fae was a faithful member of Gateway Christian Center in North Tampa where she sang in the choir and worked in the nursery, also taking care of babies for the school that the church operated.

Visitation is planned at Blount & Curry Funeral Home-Carrollwood Chapel, 3207 W Bearss Ave, Tampa, Florida 33618 from 10-11AM April 24, followed immediately by a funeral service. A graveside service is planned at the Florida Veteran’s Cemetery, Bushnell, Florida at 1PM, where she will be buried next to her husband Walter E. Franzen.

The service at Blount & Curry will be live-streamed and it will be recorded for future viewing at a URL to be determined later.