Frances Hayden
May 9, 1921 — August 15, 2008
Frances Hayden
Frances was born on May 9, 1921, in Wausau, WI, to the late Beatrice (Day) Davenport and John W. Davenport. At age four she and her family moved to Franklin, North Carolina, where she lived for 10 years. In 1935 her family moved to Brighton, MA. Thirteen years later, on August 28, 1948, Frances married Roger T. Hayden in Boston, MA. The couple settled in Roger's hometown of Melrose, MA, at 148 West Foster Street in the house where he had been born and lived all of his life. Fourteen years later they moved with their growing family to 118 Bellevue Avenue. During the 54 years they lived together in Melrose, Roger and Frances raised four children and were very active in the community. In 2002 they moved to Concord, MA, and in 2007 to Durham, NH.
Frances attended Brighton High School in Boston and Cours de la Muette in Paris, France, before graduating from Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA, in 1939. She earned her BA degree from Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA in 1943.
After graduating from Wellesley, Frances worked as a cryptographer in the US government's Naval Communications Annex in Washington D.C. In that role she helped to crack enemy codes during World War II.
Frances and Roger met through Frances' sister, Tommie, who had met Roger at a United Services Organization function after World War II. Tommie invited Roger to a party at her family home in Brighton, and she made sure that her sister would also attend. Frances and Roger were sweethearts from that day onward, building a partnership of love and friendship that grew ever stronger over time. Sixty years after they met, they would look at each other with the same loving smiles exchanged early in their courtship.
Curious and observant, Frances was drawn to writing in her youth. At age ten she began to submit articles for publication in the local paper in Franklin, NC. She kept a diary throughout her childhood and teenage years, and wrote for both her high school and college newspapers and yearbooks.
After starting a family, Frances continued to write feature stories chronicling distinctive people for papers such as The Boston Herald, Melrose Evening News and Melrose Free Press. Once her children were grown she wrote regularly for the Melrose Evening News, covering the people, places and events that shaped the town's history. A kindhearted and loving person who touched the lives of all who knew her, Frances saw her writing as another way to spread hope and happiness.
Frances loved to write letters to her family and friends. This interest enabled her to remain close with people for decades after their initial acquaintance. Her cheerful disposition, eye for detail, and ability to turn a phrase made for delightful reading. When Frances died, she was working with her daughter Anne on a book of letters Frances wrote at age 16 while she and her family lived in Paris, France in 1937-1938.
Throughout her life, Frances was most passionate about her family. She reveled in the activities of her husband, four children and eleven grandchildren, cheering them on at baseball games, tennis matches, swim meets, high school musicals, recitals and concerts, and church activities. She and Roger willingly opened their home to neighborhood gatherings, after-concert parties, and family celebrations. For almost 20 years, Roger flooded their yards on West Foster Street and Bellevue Avenue to create a skating rink that was enjoyed by family, friends and neighbors all winter long.
Frances and her family were also devoted members of the First Congregational Church in Melrose, where Frances taught Sunday school and helped to organize many activities. Among her many other community endeavors, she served as a Cub Scout den mother and as class mother in her children's schools. She also worked at Kappa Swap Shop and was a supporter of the Melrose Public Library.
Frances loved to travel and learn about different people and cultures. Her year spent in France as a teenager inspired a lifelong fascination with that country. She returned home fluent in the language and later majored in French at Wellesley. In the 1950s she joined with people from many different nationalities to form a book group that read French literature in its original language. She, Roger and other family members traveled to France many times in the 1970s and 1980s, where they would visit with friends who by then made France feel like a second home. Another travel highlight was a lengthy trip that Frances and Roger took to India in 1983.
In addition to her family and her writing, Frances was deeply loyal to Wellesley College. She loved her years at Wellesley and was very active in alumnae affairs. She served as Alumnae Association Communications Chairman during the College's Centennial Year and oversaw the publication of the Wellesley Centennial book A Woman's Place. She also served terms as 1943 Class Treasurer and Class Recorder, and held a variety of positions in the Boston Wellesley College Club.
Frances is survived by her husband, Roger; daughter Anne Hayden and her husband Ivan Burns of Concord, MA; daughter Edith (Dee) H. Mitchell of Dover, NH; son Roger T. Hayden, Jr. and his wife Linda of Dover NH; daughter Laurie H. Summers and her husband William of Basking Ridge, NJ; eleven grandchildren, Laurie Burns, Palo Alto, CA; Caroline Burns, Concord, MA; Abigail Burns, Concord, MA; Matt Mitchell, Dover, NH; Sarah Mitchell, Conway, MA; Emily Mitchell, Dover, NH; Ryan Hayden, Dover, NH; Sean Hayden, Dover, NH; Katherine Summers, Basking Ridge, NJ; John Summers, Basking Ridge, NJ; Caroline Summers, Basking Ridge, NJ; sister Beatrice 'Tommie' (Davenport) Moore of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; seven nieces and nephews and their spouses and children; five cousins and their spouses and children; and hundreds of friends from all over the world.
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