January 21 2020: LAUT, Frances Becker

Frances Becker Laut (Age 96)

On Tuesday, January 7, 2020, of Silver Spring, MD. Beloved wife of the late Robert J. Laut; loving mother of Nancy L. (Rich) Kroll, Patricia Laut and Marilyn L. Foster. Cherished grandmother of Alexander M. Laut, Shannon F. (Micah) Wallberg, K.C. Foster and the late Andrea L. Kroll; great grandmother of Kilian Laut. Also survived by a host of relatives and friends.

Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Church of the Resurrection at Riderwood Village, 3110 Gracefield Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904 on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 10:30 AM. Inurnment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice in her name.

Franny grew up in Takoma Park, MD, one of seven children of Joseph and Donna (Downs) Becker. The family house on Baltimore Ave. backed up near the railroad lines where, during the Depression, many a traveler found his way to the back door for a welcome cup of soup. After completing Immaculate Conception, she attended the University of Maryland as a “day dodger,” graduating in 1944. There she met Betty (Anderson) Tilghman and Pepper (Greenfield) Hutchinson, who became lifelong friends, and pledged the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She married Robert Laut, also from Takoma Park, in 1947; five years and three kids later, the family moved to Bethesda, MD. Franny was very active in her church—St. Jane Frances de Chantal—in the Madeleine Sodality, bowling league, bridge clubs and CYO. She was a Girl Scout leader and coached “Midget” Girls’ softball long after her kids were grown, teaching fourth-graders how not to “throw like a girl.” She worked part time with Square D Electric for 40 years as a secretary and bookkeeper. After retiring, she took up quilting with the Bethesda Quilters guild, making hundreds of dolls and blankets for AIDS babies as well as numerous quilts for grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She and Bobby moved to the Riderwood (Silver Spring) Community in 2006 so he could walk for miles, but not have to “go up and down those damn stairs anymore.” They had been married 63 years when he passed away in 2010. Franny continued her quilting and bridge games until macular degeneration took the last of her eyesight and she hosted family holiday meals for years before moving to Arbor Ridge. A very kind-hearted soul, Franny continued to befriend residents and staff alike and never lost her wicked sense of humor. She will be sorely missed.

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