BROOKS – Helen A. French, 79, died July 19, 2006, at Bayview Manor in Searsport, after a brief illness. She was born July 14, 1927, in Brooks and was always proud that her father, Anders Vitmar Idor Pettersson, was from Sweden and her mother, Edna (Elwell) Peterson, was from Brooks. They met at World’s End Farm in Massachusetts. She graduated from Morse Memorial High School in Brooks and the Maine School of Commerce in Bangor, now Husson College. Our mother loved the town of Brooks and its history and her special childhood friends, Maggie Seekins and Vaughn Ellis. She always thought highly of her Brooks friends and loved the fellowship of the Brooks Bible Church and its members. She is now with God and our beloved brother, Perry. Mom cooked the best fried chicken, apple and raspberry pie and homemade butter. Our mother cooked hot meals for every meal and cooked everything from scratch; she hated cooking, so she said. Her greatest loves were her home on Route 7, her flower gardens, picking strawberries and raspberries, digging dandelion greens, her kitties, Petey, Poppy and Maggie, her dog, Teddy, her chickens and, most of all, she loved us, her children, as we all loved her. To the end, her children and Brooks were the center of her universe. The photograph you see here shows mom at her happiest, at her little blue house on Route 7. Our special thanks go out to Dr. Howard Jones, Waldo County General Hospital and its wonderful caring staff, a special thank you to Babs and lastly to Bayview Manor, Sandy Stevenson, Crystal, Grace, Elaine and all their wonderful staff who cared for our mother. We send out a special thank you, and our love, to mom’s friend, Glenice Gibbs McIntyre, formerly of Brooks, and now a resident of Bayview Manor. She was predeceased by our fathers, Franklin Crosby and Alfred French; our brother, Perry Crosby; her brothers, Harold Hersom, David Hersom and Richard Peterson; and her granddaughter, Gabrielle Watkins. She is survived by her son, Frank Crosby and his wife, Roxie, of Brooks; and her four daughters, Nancy Crosby and friend, Becky Errington, of Raymond, Joann Crosby King and her husband, Phil, of Northport, Julie Crosby Watkins and her husband, Joe, of Brooks and Linda French Ward and her husband, Bill, of Warren; her most beloved grandchildren, Lisa, Amy, Anders, Bobbi Jo, Jamie, Janette, Alex, Leah, Erik, Kelly, Michael and Kurt; and her great-grandchildren, Jacob, Becca Jo, Andrea, Caroline, Ava, James and Alexia. A public viewing will be held 4-7 p.m. Friday, July 21, at Crabiel-Riposta Funeral Home, Belfast. The funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, July 22, at the Brooks Bible Church with a private interment at South Brooks Cemetery. After the service, a reception will be held at the Brooks Bible Church with refreshments provided by the congregation. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Brooks Bible Church, Brooks, ME 04921, Bayview Manor, Main Street, Searsport, ME 04974 or to Expanding Opportunities, Payson Road, Brooks, ME 04921. In Loving Memory Of our mother Helen Anna Peterson Crosby French
HELEN A. FRENCH
