Monica Elaine French

Monica Elaine French (Carroll) passed away quietly on January 5, 2023. Her passing was after a short battle with lung cancer at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN. She was born on July 3, 1937, in Austin, MN. She grew up on a farm near London, Mn. where she attended a 2-room school. Even though she started with 3 girls in 1st grade, by the time she was in 3rd grade, she was the only one left. Living in London was a simpler time & growing up there was great. It was a town of about 100 people. After finishing 8th grade, she attended Austin High School. While there she was in the chorus & she also made the National Honor Society. After graduating she entered St. Mary's School of Nursing in Rochester. While there she met William (Bill) R. French who had recently moved to Rochester from Whitney Point, New York to work at the new IBM plant just opening in Rochester. At that time she didn't complete her course of studies but did so in the early 70's getting her LPN license. She married BIll on November 16, 1957, at St. Augustine Church in Austin. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 2022. After 3 months of marriage Bill was drafted and they ended up in Lawton, OK. It was there that their 1st child, Jeff, was born. In 1960 they moved back to Rochester where Todd, Greg and Doug were born. Bill and Monica also lived in Hammond, MN, Colchester, VT, Belleview, FL, and Kasson, MN. They most recently were living in RealLife Co-op in Rochester. In the early years Monica was very involved in her communities & her boys' schools. Some of her other accomplishments: clerk of the town of Hammond; with a friend helped organize the first church bazaar of Hammond that involved the 3 local churches (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist) which is still being held 45-50 years later; president of the AFS chapter in the late 70s; charter member of the Kasson Library's Friends of the Library. At RealLife she has served on the board, the library, the interior design, and entertainment committees. She loved crafts & did many cross-stitch pictures for family and friends. She taught herself to tat (not an easy task) & did hardanger. For a short time she and Bill were keeping active square dancing. Monica also was an active genealogist having made connections with distant cousins around the country. Throughout their married life Bill and Monica did a lot of traveling to see relatives scattered around the US. They went to Germany, Korea together and, on her own, to England to visit sons active in the military at the time. Together, with her cousins, they visited Mexico, England, and Ireland. Monica was predeceased by her parents John Victor Carroll and Pauline Seal Carroll, her brother Duane (Marge), her sister and brother-in-law Helen and David Skeim and their son Hunter Skeim, and one grandson, Joshua M. French. She is survived by her husband Bill, her sons Jeff (Marcia), Todd (Kitty), Greg (Deb), and Wm. Doug (Yong), She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and their spouses, 15 great grandchildren, and assorted cousins who she loved. A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at Evangel United Methodist Church (2645 N Broadway Ave, Rochester, MN 55906) Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the French family; to share a special memory or condolence, please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com