| Obituary |
Obituary
Joseph L. Francis, 98
Diesel engineer at Truro base; set up DAV chapter
BOYLSTON - Joseph L. Francis, 98, a native Cape Codder and longtime Cape resident, died Friday at Westborough Healthcare Center, Westborough. He was the husband of Bessie (Cash) Francis, who died in 1998, and Mary (Sylvia) Francis, who died in 1967.
Mr. Francis was born, raised and educated in Provincetown. He was in the Coast Guard during World War II, serving at the Coast Guard station in Eastham.
As a boy, he worked for several years on the fish pier in Provincetown. He moved to New Bedford in the mid-1920s, where he worked for several grocery stores, then moved to Hyannis in the early 1930s, where he worked for the Barnstable Recreation Department, teaching crafts and helping set up softball leagues. From 1949 until retiring in 1964, he was a diesel engineer at the North Truro Air Force Base. After the war, he returned to Hyannis. He moved to Yarmouthport in 1950 and to Boylston in 1999.
In 1949, aware of a need to assist disabled veterans locally, he started Chapter 96 of the Disabled American Veterans. In 1999, when the chapter celebrated its 50th year of service to the Cape and islands, Mr. Francis was one of two charter members still living.
He accumulated thousands of hours as a volunteer, transporting veterans to VA hospitals throughout New England, and campaigned for years for a VA outpatient clinic on the Cape.
He also volunteered in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, inspecting boats and giving instruction in safe watercraft handling.
Survivors include two daughters, Patricia Bourbeau of Boylston and Madeline Powell of Amherst; a sister, Cecelia Souza of Stuart, Fla.; 14 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
He was also the father of the late Josephine Lusby.
Visitation is 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Hallett Funeral Home, 273 Station Ave., South Yarmouth. Funeral services will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, followed by a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Pius X Church, Station Avenue, South Yarmouth. Burial will follow in Ancient Cemetery, Yarmouthport.
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1905 - 2004 (99 years)
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