Frances Elizabeth Koepfgen

1925 - 1993  (67 years)

• Name	Frances Elizabeth Koepfgen  [1]
  Birth	23 May 1925	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Death	4 Feb 1993	Waterford, New London County, Connecticut   [1]
  Notes	Cass City Chronicle Wednesday, February 17, 1993 Frances (Koepfgen) Kercher, 67, who graduated from Connecticut College after raising 6 children and then remained on the staff there for 21 years, died Thursday at her home in Waterford, Conn., after a long battle with cancer. Mrs. Kercher spent most of her career in the admissions office, where she was an assistant director of admissions at the time of her death. She was known for her love of Conneticut College where 4 of her children graduated. Mrs. Kercher directed the alumni admissions program, in which more than 300 graduates residing throughout the country visit high schools and interview prospective students, and she was in charge of the transfer-student admissions program. She and her husband, Gerald E. Kercher, were former presidents of the Mr. and Mrs. Republican Club of new London. Gerald Kercher, a retired Air Force major and a retired broker from Merrill Lynch, New London, said his wife was diagnosed with cencer in 1965 and "she fought it successfully for many years." She had setbacks since 1990, he continued, but she showed remarkable spirit and worked until last December. Mrs. Kercher was appointed a writer and editorial assistant in 1972 in the Connecticut College new Office, 2 weeks before she received her bachelor's degree in English literature. She later moved from the news office to the admissions office. Before her marriage, she had completed her freshman years at the University of Michigan. She enrolled for part-time study at Connecticut College in 1967 under the Return to College Program. Upon graduation, she received the American Association of University Women Award, presented by the New London chapter of the association to a member of a graduating class who demonstrates high character, academic excellence and leadership. Mrs. Kercher was a leading figure in the Connecticut College Alumni Club of Southeastern Connecticut. She and her husband, natives of Cass City, had resided in southeastern Connecticut since 1965. Mrs. Kercher was born May 23, 1925, in Cass City, the daughter of Lyle and Ersel (Wallace) Koepfgen. She graduated from Cass City High School in 1943. She and Gerald Kercher were married December 19, 1945, in New York City. In addition to her husband, she is survived by three sons, Philip J. of Colville, Wash., Andrew C. of Dixon, Calif., and Matthew of Quaker Hill, Conn.,; 3 daughters, Susan K. CHAMIE of Ivoryton, Conn.,; Amanda Kercher of Albany, N.Y., and Caroline THURSTON of Old Saybrook, Conn., and 9 grandchildren. (Transcribed by Melinda McLemore Strong, February 2008)
  Person ID	I29793	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Family	Gerald Frederick Kercher,   b. 9 Jan 1924, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan d. 21 Aug 2011, Quaker Hill, New London County, Connecticut (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	19 Dec 1945	New York City, New York County, New York   [2]
  	Shown in the Texas Birth Index, on the birth records for her sons, Philip and Andrew, as Frances KEFGEN. The 1946 Issue of the Striffler Benkelman Broadcast, (Volume 9), when reporting their marriage, instead lists her as Frances KOEPFGEN. The 1960 issue of the same periodical, dated September 5, 1960, reported that "The five children of Major and Mrs. Gerald Kercher of Newburg, N.Y. were baptized in the E.U.B. Church in Cass City on July 10. Their grandmother was Amanda Muck."
  Children	1. Living   2. Living   3. Living   4. Living   5. Living   6. Living
  Family ID	F9601	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2008

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 23 May 1925 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Marriage - 19 Dec 1945 - New York City, New York County, New York Death - 4 Feb 1993 - Waterford, New London County, Connecticut  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S653] Cass City Chronicle, P.O. Box 115, Cass City, Michigan 48726, Published continously since 1899, archived from 1899 through 2005 at http://newspapers.rawson.lib.mi.us/chronicle/, Wednesday, February 17, 1993 (Reliability: 3). [S595] Striffler-Benkelman Broadcast, (Family Publication, published sporadically to record family milestones in connection with the annual Striffler-Benkelman Family Reunions, with Vol. 1, Number 1, published Sept. 7, 1936. Issues on file at the Rawson Memorial Library in Cass City, Michigan include Vol. 5 (1941), Vol. 7 (1944) and Volumes 8 (1945) through Vol. 28 (1968). Issues published from 1961 through 1964 were not assigned volume numbers, and 1963 appears to be missing. Xeroxes of the existing issues were also made by Melinda McLemore Strong in 2007. According to a article published by the Cass City Chronicle on August 6, 1981, commemorating the Fiftieth and Final Striffler-Benkelman Reunion, the final issue of the STRIFFLER-BENKELMAN BROADCAST appears to have been Volume 28, published in 1968.), Volume 9., September 2, 1946. (Reliability: 3).