Frances Laverty – a half of one of Queen’s most beloved couples – passed away on Tuesday at the age of 103.
Frances and her husband Padre Rev. Marshall Laverty – the University Chaplain from 1947 to 1983 – helped generations of Queen’s students and faculty and were famous for welcoming people into their home for Sunday meals.
During the 1940s and 1950s (when Queen’s was much smaller) every student would have been invited to their home for a Sunday meal, according to daughters Mary Ann de Chastelain, Arts’62, and Lea Rutherford, Arts’70, who can barely remember a Sunday without guests.
“Our father and mother made an incredible team. Dad would invite the students and then our mom would pull it all together. Our mother made it all possible.” said Lea.
The daughters joke Queen’s got a two-for-one deal when Padre Laverty was hired because Frances worked just as hard making the students feel welcome on campus.
“Our mother was wonderful at introducing everyone and talking to the shy people. She wanted to make everyone feel welcome during those Sunday meals,” says Mary Ann. In 1967, Frances and Padre were the first award recipients of The Kingston Branch Award to be jointly honoured by the Queen’s University Alumni Association. In 1991, the annual award was renamed in Padre’s honour.
Principal Emeritus William Leggett (1994-2004) says Frances was always working behind the scenes to facilitate the relationships she and her husband became known for building – most notably with students.
“She was a quiet unassuming individual with a heart of gold. Like many women in her era, she took a secondary role to her husband but in many ways she facilitated Padre Laverty’s success,” says Principal Leggett. “It was Frances who made those (Sunday dinners with students) possible. She opened up her home. Without her support in this and many other ways, much of the legend of Padre Laverty never would have existed.”
Principal Leggett established the Padre and Frances Laverty Bursary in 2003 when he heard the Lavertys were leaving Kingston to move into a retirement home in Ottawa. He felt many generations of Queen’s students would want to thank the Lavertys, and the best way to do that was by setting up a bursary to do what the Lavertys were famous for – helping students.
A service to celebrate Frances Laverty’s life will be held at the Robert J. Reid & Sons, 309 Johnson Street in Kingston, on Dec. 30.
As expressions of sympathy, the family is asking for donations be made to the Padre and Frances Laverty Bursary, Chalmers United Church in Kingston, or to a charity of the person’s choice.
