Elizabeth “Bette” Haug French, age 94, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2021. Bette was born on August 16, 1926 in Nashua, NH. She was the middle of 7 siblings, then had 7 children of her own. Bette lived a very gratifying, full life, with a close, loving family, including children, siblings, relatives and a devoted husband (Gordon L. French) of 60 years. She also had many friends. It seemed everyone who knew Bette loved her, and she loved them back. Bette was kind, sweet, fun, thoughtful, compassionate, and a talented painter and an awesome mom. She was always there to care for, support, and listen to her children and others who needed her.
Bette lived a rich spiritual life, including praying with each child most every night as they settled down to sleep. She was a lifelong devoted parishioner of Saint Patrick’s Church, from baptism to her final days.
Bette was also well educated. She attended Thurston Hall Academy for kindergarten, where she was taught by her grandmother (Jennifer McDuffie); Sacred Heart for elementary and junior high school; one year at Notre Dame Academy; and, after pleading with her father, transferred to Nashua High School for two years, where she graduated in 1943. She then attended New Rochelle College in New York.
However, life was not always easy. When Bette was 7, her dear mother (Charlotte Haug) died due to a short unexpected illness. Her dad (Anton Haug) never remarried, so Bette was raised by Anton, older siblings, maids and governesses. At times Bette was not an easy daughter and could be a bit stubborn, such as when she told her dad she was not going back to New Rochelle to finish her fourth year of college. Instead, she moved to Chicago to be “on her own.” However, after a year, she returned home and shortly thereafter went on a date with Gordon. They quickly fell in love and were married in 1948, and had their first child, Rick, in 1949.
For their first 2 years of marriage, Bette and Gordon lived in Hudson, NH. During the week, Gordon taught math and science at Henniker High School and Bette taught art at Alvirne High School. In January 1951, Gordon was called to serve in the Navy in Washington DC. So, the young family moved there for two years, which were exciting, memorable years. Mom could still recall the name of the apartment complex (Congress Apartments) and the names of good friends and neighbors and their children as recently as this year. They enjoyed living in DC, but, again, life was not easy, their second child (Brenda) was born there, and died 4 days later from a neonatal medical condition. Brenda is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
After Gordon’s Naval service, the family moved back to Nashua. As the family grew, Bette stayed home but was still active socially. She was a member of the Nashua Junior Women’s Club and the Nashua Artists Association, and played bridge with her neighborhood friends. In the summer of 1966, the family moved from their small north Nashua house to Bette’s father’s south end home. The French residence was a popular, welcoming place for the children and their friends to gather largely because they all loved mom and enjoyed being at her house, playing games, eating cookies, painting murals, or just visiting. Bette spent many hours driving and chaperoning her children, along with their friends, to multiple activities over the years, including art classes, sporting events and ski trips. However, she still found time to paint beautiful pictures which adorned her home.
As the kids got older, with some off to college, mom went back to school at Rivier University. There she finished her degree in art education that she had started decades earlier, after which she taught art at Nashua High and the Adult Learning Center. She also began to spend more time with Gordon, including working with him at the French Insurance Agency. After a few years of teaching, she began working with Gordon nearly full-time. At times, they would ride bikes together to and from the office, sometimes late at night.
As they got closer to retirement, with all the children in college or on their own, mom and dad began to travel, enjoying many exciting trips to a variety of places. These included Europe, the Canadian Rockies, Hawaii, India, and Thailand; and trips to visit children and grandchildren, including daughter Sandy in California, son Chuck in North Carolina, and granddaughters Katie and Marilynn in Portsmouth and Michigan, respectively. She enjoyed walking on beaches, swimming in lakes, boating, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, sightseeing, or just hanging out enjoying a glass of wine with family, friends, or new acquaintances.
Mom was a very positive, grateful, friendly person and seemed to enjoy life very much, especially when she was with family or friends, doing most anything, including picnics, birthday celebrations, holidays, and graduations. Even as she got older and slowly lost her eyesight, she remained positive and grateful, but life was becoming more difficult and challenging. In her final days, she lived at the Hunt Community under the care of many wonderful, loving nurses and assistants, whom she loved. She made the most of her situation, enjoying simpler things such as chocolate ice cream, music, singing, or just talking with family, friends, or nurses about her childhood, world travels, family gatherings, and special occasions.
Bette is survived by siblings: Anne Howorth of Nashua, Connie Wilson of Sarasota FL, and John Haug (and sister-in-law Bev) of Palm Springs, Ca; son and daughter-in-law Richard and Ann French of Hudson, NH; daughter and son-in-law Bobbie and Ed McGuire of Alton Bay, NH; daughter Carol Angell of Hudson, NH; daughter and son-in-law Sandy and John Sup of Gold River, CA; son and daughter-in-law Chuck and Jan French of Chapel Hill, NC; and daughter and son-in-law Judie and John Fisher of Nashua; grandchildren: Katie Parker, Marilynn Hutton, Derek Sup, McKenzie Sup, Casey Fisher, Tyler French, Peyton Fisher, and Kyle Fisher; and great grandchildren Kaelyn and Hailey Parker; and many nieces and nephews.
Bette is pre-deceased by husband Gordon L. French; daughter Brenda French; parents Anton J. and Charlotte (McDuffie) Haug; siblings Marie (Weezy) Doyle, Charles (Chuck) Haug, and Carol Miller.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the family plans to hold a small private funeral in the short term, and then a larger “celebration of life” later in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome for the Nashua Soup Kitchen, Corpus Christi Food Pantry & Assistance, Children’s Home of Nashua, Home Health Hospice, and Catie’s Closet. For more information regarding services and donations, please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com
