Fernande “Fern” DeGeorge

Memorial Mass for Fernande M.  "Fern" DeGeorge, 79, Lawrence, will be at 10:00 a.m.,  Monday, September 19, at St. Lawrence Catholic Center in Lawrence.

Fern DeGeorge died Thursday, September 15,  2011 at her home in Lawrence.

She was born December 17, 1931, in Rumford, Maine, the daughter of Albert and Bertha Melanson.  She attended Stevens High School in Rumford, and received her B.A. from Regis College (Weston, Mass,). She was a Fulbright Fellow to Grenoble, France, and then received her M.A. from Yale University. She conducted an experimental program in teaching French in elementary schools, grades 1 through 6, in Montgomery County, Md., 1956-57.  She received her M. Phil in 1970 and her Ph.D in 1972 in French literature from KU.  She co-edited a best-selling book on structuralism and published several articles on French literature and literary criticism.  She worked for a short while in KU’s Study Abroad Office, and as a Research Assistant at KU..  She loved literature and was a courtesy Assistant Professor of Western Civilization.  Her love of art found expression in serving as a docent for the Spencer Museum of Art.

She was a long-time member of the St. Lawtrence, Catholic Center, of Friends-in-Council, and of the University Women’s Club.  She was a devoted wife and mother, an award-winning quilter, a world traveler, and an avid gardener.
In 1957 she married Richard De George in Arlington, Va.  They moved to Lawrence in 1959. He survives of the home.  Other survivors include three daughters, Catherine, Denver, Rebecca and her partner Guila Muir, Seattle, and Anne Marie and her husband Richard Mueller, Pittsburgh, and their three children, Grace, Hannah, and Nathaniel. 

The family will greet friends from 4 – 7 p.m. with a vigil service at 6 p.m. Sunday the 18th at Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.

The family suggests memorials to the St. Lawrence Catholic Center, or the KU Endowment Association, sent in care of the mortuary, 120 W. 13th Street, Lawrence, KS  66044. 
 

7 Condolences

  1. Karen Andregg on September 16, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Thoughts and prayers with all the family. Fern has such a loving and caring family. She was blessed to have you all loooking after her. Her smile and love of life will always be remembered.



  2. Discussion Club, KU on September 16, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Dear Richard, Catherine, Rebecca, Anne Marie, Guila, Richard, Grace, Hannah, and Nathaniel,
    We all of us at the Discussion Club send our deepest symnpathies and condolences for your sad loss.
    We share your grief, and our thoughts and prayers are with you all, and with Fern.

    Caroline Jewers, on behalf of Richard’s friends at the Discussion Club.



  3. Susan K. Harris on September 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    Richard, my heart goes out to you. I never met Fern, but she was clearly a wonderful person and companion. Please accept my warm sympathies. –susan harris



  4. Chuck Berg on September 18, 2011 at 1:43 pm

    Dear Richard and Family, we are saddened by Fern’s passing and yet celebrate a wonderful life well-lived, generous and caring. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Sincerely, Chuck and Beth Berg



  5. Teresa Robertson on September 18, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    I am very sorry for your loss. Fern was a lovely person–always very kind to me. I especially remember her offering comforting words when my mother died in 2005.



  6. Hugh Howard on September 19, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    My deepest sympathies go out to Richard, Rebecca, Catherine, Anne, and every other person who knew and loved Fern.



  7. Mary T. Clark RSCJ on September 22, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Dear Richard, I offer you my prayerful sympathy at this difficult time oflosing the earthly presence of your dear wife,Fern.



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