SOUTH PARIS – Frances L. (O’Neill) Pawlowski, 97, passed away Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at Market Square Health Care Center in South Paris. She was born on October 5, 1925, in Ozone Park, Queens, New York, a daughter of the late John and Mary (Petit) O’Neill.

Frances grew up in New York. After graduating high school, on January 5, 2946 she married her late husband Walter Pawlowski, with whom she enjoyed 74 loving years of marriage, through which they raised two sets of families — their own children and then their grandchildren, whom they adopted. Frances traveled the country during Walter’s six-year tour in the United States Navy. After Walter was honorably discharged from the Navy, they lived on a farm in Connecticut before moving to Maine in the 1970s.

Frances was a devoted wife and mother and spent her life enjoying her family and friends. She loved animals and always had dogs and cats in her homes over the years. Frances had a very active lifestyle and often went on hikes and walks. She continued to try to walk daily into her 90s. Frances was a high-spirited woman with a tenacious attitude towards life. She was a generous soul who wanted to take care of people in need and those she loved. She donated to multiple charities her whole life. Frances also knitted blankets, hats, mittens, potholders and other articles and regularly gave them to friends and family.

Frances was a devout Catholic and a member of St. Catherine’s Of Sienna in Norway, Maine for many years. She was also an avid reader and always had a stack of books by her chair and her bed. Frances was often found in the kitchen, listening to music and dancing while she was cooking or baking. She had a green thumb and loved gardening in the yard. Frances also loved having many plants in the screened-in porch and living room of her West Paris, Maine, home.

Walter’s love of Frances was the shining light of her life. They met as children in New York and were never separated their whole lives, except for his time spent in surface and submarine fleets during World War II. During their final years in Market Square Health Care Center, Walter would roll in his wheelchair telling everyone he was looking for his “one and only,” and she continued trying to care for him as if they were still living in their own home.

Frances is survived by her children: Robert Pawlowski and his wife, Gwen; Kathi Files; Scott Pawlowski and his wife, Miina; Marc Pawlowski and his wife, Brooke; and Vanessa Spooner and her husband, Daniel. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Robert Pawlowski Jr. and his wife, Nikki; Chris Pawlowski; Aila and Marlowe Pawlowski; Nikolas, Cole and Brett Pawlowski; Dylan and Carly Spooner; Jasper Pawlowski; Brook and Robert Pawlowski III; Eli Pawlowski; Hunter Fox Pawlowski, Zackery Pawlowski, Destiny Pawlowski, Jennie Rollins, and Johnny Ruoff.

She was predeceased by her loving husband Walter; two sons, Walter, Jr. and Jimmy Pawlowski; and a grandson, Zack Howes.

Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 45 Main Street, South Paris. Online condolences may be shared with her family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com.

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