December 3, 1928 – February 5, 2026
Frances I. (Blake) Quackenbush of Acton, formerly of Woburn and Reading, passed away on Thursday, February 5, 2026, at the Benchmark Senior Living at Robbins Brook in Acton. She was 97 years of age.
Fran was born in Biddeford, Maine, on December 3, 1928, to the late Alvah and Margaret (Gough) Blake. She grew up in both Maine and New Hampshire and enjoyed playing on her high school basketball team. After graduating, Fran found her first, and one of her favorite jobs: being an overnight attendant on the train from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City. It was during this time that she fell in love with movies and Broadway theater. Another favorite job of hers was working, in her words, as “a pushcart peddler” at Quincy Market in Boston, where she sold Boston sports paraphernalia and souvenirs; she was a lifelong fan of the Celtics, Red Sox, and New England Patriots. As an adult, she showed her competitive side playing bridge and bowling. In addition to being a hard worker, Fran had a creative side. She expressed her creativity through stained-glass art, sewing, and even a brief stint in modelling.
Fran was the beloved wife of the late Arthur N. Quackenbush and devoted mother of Lynn E. Vesey and her husband Joseph of Westford, Karen L. Walsh and her husband Arthur of Billerica, and the late Scott A. Quackenbush. She was the loving grandmother of Allison, Kayla, Michael, and Kellie and loving great-grandmother of Kathryn (Kate), Oscar, and Hudson. She was also the cherished sister of the late Joseph Blake.
Services for Fran will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at the Douglass, Edgerley and Bessom Funeral Home at 25 Sanborn St, Reading, MA (corner of Woburn St.). Visitation will start at 10:30am followed by a service at the funeral home at 11:30am. Burial will follow at Wood End Cemetery in Reading. Family and friends are invited to meet at the Tavern in the Square in Woburn, MA after the burial.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Fran’s memory to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society: 465 Waverly Oaks Rd. Suite 202, Waltham, MA 02452 or www.nationalmssociety.org
