Mary Francis Ober Daviess

Mary Frances Ober Daviess, died peacefully on May 6, 2011. She was born on September 23, 1921 in Duluth, Minnesota, daughter of Frederick Lowe Ober and Frances Melicent Berg Ober, sister of Lucy Ellen Ober Silvey of Antioch, California, and Melicent Caroline Ober Arner, deceased. Fran married Steven Norman Daviess in 1944 in Westwood, California. They had two sons, Norman Frederick Daviess of Alamagordo, New Mexico and Francis Arthur Daviess of Golden Colorado. She was ""Granny Franny"" to Frances Kathryn Daviess Ridenhour of Glendale, California, Shannon Eileen Daviess of Portland, Oregon, Christopher Castle Daviess of San Francisco, California, and Elizabeth Castle Daviess of Golden, Colorado. She took great pride in her great grandchildren, Kathrine Marie Ridenhour and Ian Blackwell Ridenhour. Her dogs, Chester, Mike, Ryan, Maggie, and Peggy, gave her companionship throughout her life and brought her great comfort. Her early married life with Steve took her all over the world, from Mozambique to Madrid, Barbados to Basque country, with stops in London, Havana, and the Canary Islands. They seemed the glamourous couple, with a sophisticated globe-trotting lifestyle and interesting, unusual friends, but Fran was always grounded and practical. She was independent and engaging, open and fun-loving, unconstrained by social convention if convention was just getting in the way. Her musical talent gave her joy throughout her life, whether through playing the piano or singing or just listening with keen appreciation. She was the parent or grandparent who would crawl on the floor, dive in the waves, and find the best hiding places in hide-and-go-seek, while the other adults watched with bemusement and the children were delighted. She faced death without regret or fear. She was the person we all want to be - she had perfect pitch for life.