Associate Frances Geronimo

January 6, 1934-May 31, 2022

I will write my covenant on your hearts.

Born in New Rochelle, New York, Associate Frances Geronimo (nee Heidig) was the youngest of three children. Fran spent most of her life in New Rochelle, graduating from New Rochelle High School in 1951, where she learned secretarial skills and went to work in that field after graduating.

At the age of 19, Fran met the love of her life, Ernie, and they were married on Sept. 26, 1954. Ernie passed away in 2015. They were married for almost 61 years. Together Fran and Ernie had five children, in the short span of six years. Fran was a stay-at-home mom until the kids were older, and then she went out into the work force, first taking a job as an assistant at a monument company, and then going to work for the New Rochelle Board of Education, first at City Hall, followed by Stephenson School and Albert Leonard Middle School as secretary to the principal, until her retirement in 1994.

In 1998, Fran and Ernie moved to Spring Hill, Florida, where they enjoyed their many years of retirement and would be visited over the years by their children and grandchildren, which always included a trip to Disney World. They loved their life and many friends in Florida.

Fran was taught by the Sisters of Charity in New Rochelle, and was drawn to know them and to follow their example. She fondly remembered her eighth grade teacher, S. Xavier Maria Green, and the lifelong friendship they developed. In Florida, she and Ernie become involved in their parish, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini Church. Fran served as a Eucharistic Minister at the church and to the homebound. She was inspired to become an Associate by S. Mary Loyola Mathia, who worked at the parish and led her weekly prayer group.

She made her commitment as an Associate in Mission on May 13, 2011, stating: “Our founders were filled with the Holy Spirit. They had determination to help others and to be true to their faith. They are an inspiration. The Sisters of Charity today continue the legacy of teaching charity. The Associates are so welcoming, and we have become friends. I feel drawn to the group by the love and care they show for each other.”

“I knew Franny my whole life since she was my cousin and my mother’s godmother,” remembers S. Alice Ann O’Neill. “[She] was a very kind and faith-filled woman who was deeply loved by her family and is dearly missed by all of us.”

Fran leaves behind her five children, nine granddaughters, and four great-grandchildren.