Our mother, Phyllis Vagence Francone, died in Corpus Christi, Texas, on 08 January 2026, just 19 days before her 103rd birthday. She had led a truly remarkable life.
Born in Astoria, Queens, New York City, she was the seventh of eight siblings. Her father, Phillip, was an Italian immigrant who, despite a third-grade education, became a successful builder of homes and apartments. Her mother, Jennie, was born in New York City, the daughter of Italian immigrants. Phyllis was educated in the once-great New York City public school system. Growing up, she enjoyed horseback riding near her home in Astoria and horseplay with her siblings. She was an early bobbysoxer who sometimes ditched school to see the Big Bands and singers at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Summers were spent at the family bungalow (built by her father) in Long Beach. She and her older sister enjoyed surfing in the Atlantic on an old wooden ironing board!
Mom got married on 31 October 1942 at the age of 19. Our Dad, Edeale Francone, was a sailor who was on leave from the war at the time. Her son, Bruce, was born in 1943 while Dad was away at war. After the war, the family lived in Astoria in one of her father’s apartments. Sister Christyne was born in 1948.
Mom used to tease us about being a Martian. She was always fascinated by space and the space exploration programs that we had. She would often cut out articles she had read about space and send them to me. We know that she would have loved to be launched into space. We hope her capsule gets caught in the Martian gravity field!
In 1950, our Dad went back into the service, this time in the Air Force. In 1951, we moved to Allbrook Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. Three years in Panama were wonderful, and Mom found out she could survive without being near home and family in Astoria. She took to overseas life like a duck to water. She worked at the base library and honed her skills as a gourmet cook and seamstress. She and Dad also learned the Mambo and became skilled dancers.
After Panama, we spent two and a half years in Washington State. We rented a farm on Whidbey Island, and Mom learned all about being a farm wife. In 1956, the Air Force sent Dad to Thule Air Base in Greenland for one year. Since we couldn’t go with him, we waited for him in Mom’s old stomping ground - Long Beach. After Dad returned from Greenland, we were sent to Zaragoza Air Base in Spain.
We lived in Zaragoza for 31/2 years until June 1961, when Dad retired from the Air Force. During our time in Zaragoza, Mom went on trips to Italy and England. She also immersed herself in the wonderful Spanish culture. She loved bullfights. She also learned to speak Spanish and how to cook tasty Spanish dishes. This was not the end of Mom’s overseas adventures.
In 1961, Dad got a job with Page Communications Engineers, an Air Force Contractor, running a power plant at a remote base in northwest Spain. So she moved to Fuenterrabia, where France, Spain, and the Atlantic Ocean meet. While there, Mom traveled to Spain and Portugal - to Gibraltar, Sevilla, Granada, and many other Spanish cities. She took the ferry over to Tangier, Morocco. We also drove to Copenhagen, Denmark, and along the way drove through East Germany to West Berlin. We went through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin, where Mom had fun taking reciprocal pictures with a group of Soviet Soldiers.
They left Spain in 1964 and moved to the Philippine Islands. Dad got a job there with Philco-Ford. They lived in a mountainous area where Mom learned all about Filipino culture. This was also an area where headhunters were still active. While there, Mom and Dad took a trip to Thailand. They lived in the Philippines until 1967, when they tried to retire to Santa Monica, California. That turned out to be too boring for Mom and Dad.
So in 1968, Dad got a job in Da Nang, Vietnam, running a power plant for the military. Mom soon followed and was there for two years. They lived in a house inside a compound owned by a Vietnamese colonel. Mom fixed up the house to her usual standards. She taught ESL and administered tests to local Marines and soldiers at the local Education center. She loved her time there - making dinners for young Marines and soldiers, partying with Navy seals, and riding helicopters over the South China Sea. Mom always left the place she was living in better than when she arrived there.
All good things must come to an end. Dad’s health finally forced them to retire for good. In 1971, they left Vietnam and retired to Albuquerque, New Mexico. While there, they still managed a trip to England and Ireland. They also went to Germany to visit their daughter and grandchildren. They took a nice cruise to Alaska.
Dad died in 1992, so Mom moved to Corpus Christi to be near her daughter Christyne, son-in-law Bob, and grandchildren. Even in her eighties, Mom still managed a trip to the Kingdom of Jordan to visit her daughter and son-in-law.
She is survived by two children, three grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
