Frances Liddy - Obituary

******MRS. LIDDY'S FUNERAL IS POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER UNTIL TOMORROW THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010 AT 9AM AT ST. IGNATIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH******** Frances Purcell Liddy of Poughkeepsie, New York, Scottsdale, Arizona and Fort Washington, Maryland, daughter of Thomas F. Purcell and Alfarata Toomey Purcell, and beloved wife of George Gordon Liddy entered eternal life on February 5, 2010 and rests in the arms of God. She is survived by her husband Gordon, her children Alexandra Liddy Bourne of Alexandria, Virginia; Grace Alfarata Liddy of Ft. Washington, Maryland; Commander James Gordon Liddy, USN (SEAL) (Ret.), of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Thomas Purcell Liddy of Chandler, Arizona; Colonel Raymond Joseph Liddy, USMCR of San Diego, California; and her twelve grandchildren. Frances was born in Poughkeepsie, New York on December 2, 1932. She graduated from Poughkeepsie High School and the College of New Rochelle with a degree in Economics before earning her Masters Degree in Education from the State University of New York, New Paltz. Frances worked for the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, then as an economic analyst for the Central Hudson Gas & Electric Company and thereafter for IBM before becoming an educator. She taught in the public schools in the City of Poughkeepsie and in Washington, D.C., for eighteen years. Frances was a life-long artist. She took up painting in her early teens. She travelled the world studying and painting. She was an accomplished plein air watercolorist. Her favorite subjects were the many beautiful vistas in Arizona and her native Hudson Valley. Frances was an only child, quiet and reserved, never longing for the spotlight. Her prayers for a large family were answered when she married Gordon; the couple was blessed by God with five children. She devoted herself to her beloved Gordon for over fifty-two years of Holy Matrimony. She was an ever flowing wellspring of love and nurture for her children, including five years as the sole provider in the wake of her husband's imprisonment for his role in the Watergate break-in. She was tested by poverty, notoriety and sorrow, but they were no match for her commitment to Gordon, her children and her faith in God. Family and friends are invited to Frances' Life Celebration on Tuesday, February 9 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8pm at the GEORGE P. KALAS FUNERAL HOME, 6160 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, MD. Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Wednesday, February 10 at 11am at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 2315 Brinkley Road, Fort Washington, MD. Another viewing will be held Feb. 11, 7 to 9pm, at the Darrow Funeral Home, 39 South Hamilton Street, Poughkeepsie, NY and funeral services on the morning of Feb. 12, 10am at St. Mary's Church on Church Street in Poughkeepsie. Burial service to follow at St. Peter's Cemetery, 147 Salt Point Road, Poughkeepsie.