Obituary of Frances M. Conn

Frances Mary Conn, of Pismo Beach, passed away peacefully at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on Friday, February 20, 2015. She was 84. Born in Yonkers, New York, the daughter of Irving and Eleanor Conn, Frances was raised and educated in the New York metropolitan area. She received a BA in English from Barnard College in 1952, and an MA in English Teaching from Columbia University. She moved to Santa Maria in 1955 where she taught English at Santa Maria High School and was advisor for the school paper The Breeze. In 1964 she was hired to teach English at Allan Hancock College. In 1970, she received a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Claremont Graduate School. Returning to Hancock, she served as Dean of Instruction, Vice President of Instruction and served one year as Interim President before retiring in 1993. Frances was selected Woman of the Year in 1985 by the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women for her contributions to education. In addition to the satisfaction that she got from seeing her students, colleagues, and Allan Hancock College blossom, Frances enjoyed seeing her family and friends, the theater, her garden, her magically unique house, discussing current events, volunteering with the SLO South County Democratic Club, singing popular songs of the 1930's and 40's, and traveling. Frances is survived by her life partner Nancy Hay and Nancy's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren; her brother David Conn in Potter Valley, CA.; her brother Peter Conn (Paulina) in Santa Barbara; her nephew Eric Conn in Nashville, TN.; and her niece Caroline Conn (Michael Dobson) of Agua Dulce, CA. Donations in honor of Frances may be made to: Friends of the Allan Hancock Library, PO Box 5170, Santa Maria, CA 93456-5170; the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County 2212 Golden Hill Rd Paso Robles, CA, 93446; or a favorite cause. A celebration of Frances's life will be held at 2 PM on Friday, April 17th, at the Allan Hancock College Student Center, 800 S. College Dr, Santa Maria.