On April 23, 2020 Anne Wedjen Franzen went to see her father in heaven. She was 78 years old living in Mesa, Arizona.
Anne was born in Breman, Germany, on July 22, 1941. She was raised in a small suburb called Farge. One of her favorite things to do as a child was to visit Der Weser River. She was an energetic child and really loved to talk to her fellow classmates and often got into trouble for it. Ultimately, she completed her High School education in Germany at the age of 16 as they went to school year round.
Anne, then, met her first husband John Custer as he was stationed there. They married and soon moved to the United States. Which come to find out, the United States did not recognize that German marriage and they had to remarry so that their daughter could become a U.S. citizen.
On their way to the United States they were flying into New York City and the plane was diverted to Montreal, Canada due to weather. Of course, once cleared, she was able to make the trip to New York. From there she lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, and then off to Colorado as some family members has some tough Asthma issues and required drier weather.
Some years later, Anne attended school to acquire her Real Estate License, where she would meet Leigh Franzen, the soulmate of her life. They married in April of 1978. They recently celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary. Anne was a very devoted wife and mother, often putting everyone’s needs before her own.
Anne loved to cook. Everything from huge elaborate family feasts to making sure if you were a guest at her table, no matter the dinner, you got dessert to match and be sure to be stuffed yourself. She absolutely loved to dance as well. Her children have very vivid memories of her playing her favorite record albums and dancing with them! Anne also had a knack for her writings and was even published a couple times. One was a short story about her youngest son and the other was a poem that she wrote. Along with writing she loved to read.
Anne is survived by her husband, Leigh, daughters, Patricia and Karen (Bill), sons, John Mike and Steven, grandchildren, Gene (Tiffany), Amber, Caitlin, Eli, Alyssa, great-grandchildren, Wesley, Tiana and Anoura. Parents, Arther and Martha, brother, Werner, Niece, Silke, cousins, Ludwig and Bernard and we cannot forget to mention, little Mindy her chiweenie.
There will be services held at Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery Friday May 1, 2020. Although seating is extremely limited due to the current Covid-29 Pandemic, it is reserved for family members. A zoom broadcast will be available for those that would like to view the services via computer. Please see Anne’s Facebook page in her memory “In Honor of Anne W. Franzen” for further information regarding the Zoom services. There is also a fundraiser to donate to in her honor instead of sending flowers to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. This can be done though the link on her Facebook Memorial Page.
https://www.facebook.com/donate/590579328223101/?fundraiser_source=external_url