Mabel Caron Obituary

Mabel Francis Caron LANCASTER, SC - Mrs. Mabel Francis Caron, 100, formerly of Lancaster, SC, passed away Thursday, August 11, 2022 at Veterans Victory House in Walterboro, where she was in hospice care since July 6, 2022. She was born February 11, 1922 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late Waddy Herbert Francis and Mary Ellis Francis. Mrs. Caron was a US Navy Veteran and served as a WAVE during World War II. The family of Mrs. Caron will hold a visitation on Monday, August 15, 2022 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Lancaster Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Lancaster, SC. A service to celebrate the life of Mrs. Caron will be held Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 11 o'clock a.m. at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Lancaster, SC with Father Javier Heredia presiding. Burial will be in the Lancaster Memorial Park with military honors. The family will hold a reception after the burial at the St. Catherine Catholic Church Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the St. Catherine Catholic Church in honor of Mabel Caron. Mrs. Caron is survived by her children, Patricia Lewis, Mary Drennan (Frank), Raymond Caron (Inma), James Caron (Sally), David Caron, Robert Caron (Teresa), and Waddy Caron (Susan); and her grandchildren, Anne-Marie Lewis, Heather Lewis, Scott Drennan (Deanna), Ashley Drennan Bond (Keith), Gregory Drennan, Nicole Caron (Michael Besch), Michelle Caron, Natalie Caron, Tyler Caron (Vanessa), Michael Caron, Matthew Caron, Jenna Walters, Adam Walters (Becca), Thomas W. Dean III, Emily Caron, Rachel Caron, and Caroline Caron; her great-grandchildren, Thibault Faouz (Marle), William Lewis (Alyssa), Tillman Drennan, Dillon Drennan, Gracie Drennan and her great-great-grandchildren, Magnolia Faouz, Ava Lewis, and Cole Lewis. Mabel Caron graduated from Lancaster High School in 1938 as valedictorian and the class president. She went onto attend Business College in Charlotte, NC, where she excelled in typing and shorthand. During World War II when President Roosevelt opened the armed forces for women to serve in 1943, Mabel joined the Navy WAVES. She served in communications, where she wrote shorthand during Classified Norfolk Command strategy meetings and then typed them into memos for distribution. Mabel was a very fast typist and could read encoded messages as well as shorthand and type them into briefs for Navy Officers. There were many days when she was placed into a Jeep and rushed across base to attend a meeting, where she would record in shorthand then travel back to the offices to type up the translations and then go back to deliver the typed memos. Mabel was assigned to the Navy Intelligence Unit, where she learned to identify encoded German correspondence and helped the Navy identify German spies on the Norfolk Navy Base, which led to their capture and prosecution. Mabel served until the war ended in 1945 and then married Paul Caron, a Navy seaman who she met in Norfolk. They returned to Lancaster, SC to settle down and start a family where Mabel raised seven children. Mabel's father, Waddy Francis, donated the land and raised funds to build St. Catherine Catholic Church in Lancaster, SC, where Mabel taught religion classes for over 30 years. She wrote weekly articles for the SC Catholic Diocese paper and was awarded the Diocesan St. Pius X medal for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine by Bishop Russell. Throughout her time in Lancaster, Mabel was very active as a volunteer and held several offices including the Secretary of the Easter Seals Society, President of the American Legion Auxiliary, President of the Ladies Guild and the first female President of the Lancaster Toastmasters Club. In addition to raising seven children, Mabel worked as an Executive Assistant at Springs Mills for several executives including the President, Mr. Bill Close. When her youngest child entered elementary school in 1967, she started working at the Springs Credit Union, where she served for 19 years until her retirement. She moved to Charleston SC in 2000 to be closer to her children and spend time with her grandchildren. In 2015, she moved into assisted living at the Carter-May Home, where this past February she celebrated her 100th birthday with her children, fellow residents, and special guest Bishop Guglielmone of the Diocese of Charleston. She reminisced about her time in the Navy and laughed as her children told stories of funny experiences they had growing up in Lancaster. When asked what her secret to a long life is, she told us there is no secret, just have faith in God, always help others, even if it is just a hug, and never pass up dessert. Notes to the family may be made at www.lancasterfuneralhome.com. Lancaster Funeral Home & Cremation Service is serving the family of Mrs. Caron. Visit our guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/charleston