Frances Margot Tassell

Frances Margot Tassell of Winter Park, Florida, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the age of 89. Fran was born on January 8, 1937, in Caribou, Maine, where she grew up on a potato farm near Quebec and learned to speak French at an early age.

Fran loved sports and was an integral part of Caribou High School’s varsity basketball team, contributing to two undefeated seasons. A lifelong competitive tennis player, she won doubles competitions with friends well into her 60s and 70s.

After high school, Fran left Maine for Washington, D.C., where she became a stewardess for Capital Airlines and lived in Georgetown. It was an early glimpse of the adventurous, independent spirit she would carry throughout her life.

Fran graduated from Winchester Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Virginia and passed the state board exam to become a registered nurse in 1962. She went on to work as an emergency room nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston while living on Pinckney Street in Beacon Hill. It was during those years that she met her future husband, Harry, while he was attending Northeastern University.

Fran and Harry moved to Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 1967, where they raised their three sons. With three boys in the house, Fran’s nursing background came in handy more than a few times. By Fran’s standards, however, what actually qualified as an emergency was a pretty high bar.

Her boys also grew up hearing a few familiar Fran sayings that pretty much summed up life in the Tassell house: “No one likes a tattle tale,” “Oh stop crying, it’s only a few sutures,” “No such word as can’t,” “Did you grow up in a barn?” and, of course, “Where are your manners?”

Fran was proud of her work as a nurse for the American Red Cross and Hospice for more than 30 years and called it her “gift.” She continued to recertify yearly, holding her nursing qualifications well into her 80s.

Fran was a force of nature, able to connect with anyone and always ready to share a smile and a laugh. When Fran set her mind on something, she had a remarkable way of persuading just about anyone to come around to her way of thinking. She invited strangers she met on planes and friends who needed help to come live with us for months at a time while we were growing up. She could get anyone to dance and did so until the very end, having us dance to Earth, Wind & Fire while she moved her shoulders to the beat just a day before she passed.

Fran loved gardening, walking, dancing, and hunting for bargain antiques. Long before healthy living became mainstream, she was searching out organic foods, vitamins, and natural remedies. In the 1970s, a two-hour round trip to Bread & Circus in Boston could somehow turn into a fun all-day adventure, with Fran returning with organic vegetables, the latest vitamins, maybe an antique, a few prayer cards to hand out, and probably a story or two about people she met along the way. She could have stayed home and grown the vegetables herself, but where was the adventure in that? And in true Fran fashion, when the vitamins got old, she buried them in the garden. She had a natural cure for just about anything that ailed you and loved sharing what she learned to help others.

Throughout her life, Fran was actively involved in Holy Family Church in Duxbury, Massachusetts; St. Joseph’s in Stuart, Florida; and Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park, Florida.

Fran will be remembered for her tough Maine farm-girl roots, unwavering devotion to God, compassionate heart, strong will, dignity, quick wit, and powerful spirit—along with her high kicks, fun laugh, and, not to be overlooked, her smooth and soulful rhythm on the dance floor. Above all, she deeply loved her brothers and sisters and had an extraordinary ability to connect with people from every walk of life.

Fran was predeceased by her parents, Edward Percival Gagnon and Anne Helena McLaughlin Gagnon of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, and her husband of 37 years, Harry.

Fran is survived by the family she loved so dearly: her three sons and their families—Eric, his partner Kristen, and daughter Macy; Kirk, his wife Debbie, and son Matthew; and Harry, his wife Vanessa, and children Haley and Harry. She is also survived by her sister and brothers and their families—Carol and her children, Lisa, Cathleen, and Art; Charlie and his daughters, Caroline and Melissa; and Gerard and his wife, Diana. She also shared a special bond with her husband Harry’s extended family, including her many nieces and nephews, whom she loved dearly and who all loved her in return.

Fran also leaves behind many dear friends in and around Duxbury, Massachusetts; Stuart, Florida; and Winter Park, Florida, whose friendship meant so much to her over the years. She would want each of them to know how much they were loved and, in true Fran fashion, would ask them to say a little prayer for her.

The family would like to thank the nurses, caregivers, and close friends for the care and compassion they showed Fran in her final days.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Celebration of Life Mass at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 24, at Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church Chapel, 526 N. Park Ave., Winter Park, Florida 32789, followed by a reception nearby. A private family interment will take place at Mayflower Cemetery in Duxbury, Massachusetts, at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Fran’s memory to the American Red Cross or Catholic Charities USA, honoring her lifelong commitment to caring for others and helping those in need. Catholic Charities serves people regardless of faith or background, including families in poverty, seniors, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and others in need.

And as Fran always told her boys growing up, remember to say your prayers, take your vitamins, and get outside. Find comfort in knowing that, as she always said to everyone, it’s just “Bye for now”—until we meet again.