Mary Frances (Fran) Brasfield

November 19, 1915 - April 1, 2006

Mary Frances (Fran) Brasfield
1915 – 2006

Fran was born in McComb, Mississippi on November 19, 1915. She graduated from Mississippi College for Women in Columbus, MS, with a degree in elementary education and taught in Mississippi and Florida. During World War II she went to Brazil to teach English to Portuguese-speaking airline mechanics.

Her first overseas schools assignment was in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, in 1953. Later she was stationed in Libya; Johnson Airbase, Japan; Iceland; Clark AB, the Philippines; Sidi Slimane, Morocco; Greenham Common, England; Izmir, Turkey; and Chicksands, England. While in Izmir she became a librarian and continued in this position until the end of her career.

Fran was known for her graciousness and warmth, always first to welcome newcomers to a school and make them feel at home. She was a wonderful hostess and an excellent cook. She enjoyed traveling, entertaining, and going to the theater; she especially loved the flowers and gardens of England. She had a knack for seeing the ridiculous in life, and had a great repertoire of funny stories; a legacy that she has left to her many friends.

Fran suffered a stroke while celebrating her 90th birthday with DoDDS friends who were in Jackson to share the festivities; she died a few days later on April 1, 2006.

A Chinese proverb says, “When an old person dies, a library is lost.” Truly much DoDDS history has disappeared with Fran’s death.