Maybelle V. France

Lt. Col. Maybelle Vivian France

Maybelle Vivian France, age 92, of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, passed away at Hospice House of Cheboygan on February 27, 2020.

She was born May 24, 1927 in the Mackinac Point Lighthouse, Mackinaw City, to Theodore and Lucy (Chapman) France.

She received her registered nursing degree in 1950 from St. Luke’s Hospital in Marquette, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Colorado in 1966.  She joined the United States Air Force in January of 1959.  She was stationed in many locations all over the world, including England where she developed a life-long appreciation for all things British, and was an avid fan and scholar of the British Royal Family both past and present.  She retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in February of 1970 from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and returned to live in Sault Ste. Marie.

Maybelle is survived by one sister, G. Patricia Toland of Midland, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, and nephews, who will miss her greatly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, sisters MaryAnn (Donald) LaBonte, Virginia Skinner, and brothers-in-law Donald Toland and Jack Skinner. 

The funeral mass will be celebrated on Friday, May 15, 2020 at 11:00am at Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Sault Ste Marie, with the family greeting friends beginning at 10:00am. Burial and full military honors at Oaklawn Chapel Gardens will follow.

Memorials may be made to Hospice House of Cheboygan.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Nordman-Christian Funeral Home of Cheboygan.

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