GRANBY, CT – Frances A. Ide, 87, (1938–2025) passed away peacefully on May 29, 2025, at Meadow Brook of Granby Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Born in Willimantic CT on January 18, 1938, she was the daughter of the late Albert and Mary (Scheevak) September. Frances was baptized at the Church of Saint Joseph in Willimantic CT.
After graduating from the High School of Commerce in Springfield Massachusetts in 1955, she entered the workforce in a clerical role at Monarch Life Insurance Company. She soon met the love of her life, Kenneth J. Ide and they married on November 15, 1958, in Springfield MA. She and Ken settled in Southwick MA where they raised their three children, Matthew, Marianne, and Mark. While continuing to raise her children, Frances went back into employment in the 1970s working at Sears and Robuck in telephone sales and ending her working career at Carandos Foods in Springfield MA. She was most proud of her work at Digital Equipment Corporation at their Westfield MA production facility. There she contributed to the manufacturing of the early generation of computers which would transform how we work and live today. She was a longtime communicant of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Southwick MA. She enjoyed spending time searching for “treasures” at tag sales. She became quite a collector of anything Mickey Mouse related and prominently displayed her finds. Along with her beloved husband, Ken, they traveled throughout the northeast attending agricultural fairs which featured draft horse “pulling” contests. Celebrating her Polish heritage, Frances and Ken danced many polkas at Polish picnics throughout western New England. She was the beloved “Bachie” to her grandchildren and was a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan. She was rarely seen without her Red Sox baseball cap.
Besides her parents, she is predeceased by her loving husband Kenneth J. Ide who passed in 2021 after 63 years of marriage. To cherish her memory, she leaves her children Matthew Ide and his wife Marie Politis, Marianne Stowell and her husband Todd, and Mark Ide and his wife Jordan; her grandchildren Devon Ide, Katie Stowell, Jacey Heath, Bradley Heath, and Montana Gashlin; her brother Albert September and her sister Anna Bradway; her dear cousin Nancy Yiznitsky as well as many nieces and nephews.
Calling hours for Frances will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at Southwick Forastiere Funeral & Cremation, 624 College Highway, Southwick. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, June 5th, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake Church, Sheep Pasture Road, Southwick. Committal Services will be held at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam following the liturgy.
Memorial contributions in Frances’ memory may be made to a charity of one’s choice. For more information or to leave an online condolence, please visit www.forastiere.com
