Maria Frances Brideau (née Chiappinelli) was born in 1940 in Mount Kisco, NY and died June 23, 2024 while in hospice care in Port St. Lucie, FL, two days shy of her 84th birthday.

"Frannie" grew up the daughter of Albert and Rose Chiappinelli, who owned a small neighborhood grocery store in Mount Kisco, NY where she learned from her father's example of hard workand her mother's compassion and foundational need to feed everyone around her. The house where she grew up with her brothers Albert, Jr ("Chip", deceased), Donald (deceased) and sister Agnes ("Aggie") was always a welcoming place for family, friends and strangers who'd soon become friends – with plenty of good Italian food, laughter and love.

After earning a degree in nursing from SUNY Plattsburgh, she married Raymond J. Brideau, Jr in 1962, beginning a 58-year love affair. They were blessed with a large family beginning with their eldest son, Scott Brideau (Carolyn, son Collin and daughter Ryan) born in 1963, twins Rebecca Hall (Michael, sons Garrett and Brendan) and Christopher Brideau (LeeAnne, sons Nicolas and Alexander, and daughter Megan) in 1964, daughter Deborah Brideau (son Hunter and daughter Alyssa) in 1967 and son Raymond "RJ" Brideau, III (Cindy, daughter Lauren, and sons Jack and Luke) in 1969.

Fran is pre-deceased by her loving husband Ray (2020) and her beloved son Chris (2014). She is survived by her sister Aggie Nelson (Donald), her 4 remaining children and 12 grandchildren.

She and Ray had a cherished coterie of friends who sustained them from those early days in Mount Kisco and with whom they remained close their entire lives - enjoying traveling together, eating, drinking, and laughing together for decades. Those relationships, along with family and faith, were cornerstones of Fran and Ray's life together.

The family moved from Ossining, NY to West Chester, PA in 1970, where they lived until Ray's retirement in 1996 when they moved to Vero Beach, FL. Both were active in the community and church, as they continued to grow their circle of friends even larger. Mimi, as her grandchildren called her, was a loving but firm grandmother, always ready to cover babysitting duties - traveling as far as Exton, PA, Washington, DC and Austin TX to teach her grandchildren respect, responsibility and love, along with how to do their chores and make hospital corners with their bed sheets.

Like her mother Rose before her, Fran valued gathering family and friends close. And like Rose, she lived her life in service – always putting the needs of others ahead of her own. She was the strong, loyal, and supportive center of her family, who grieves her loss, but celebrates her life. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Funeral Mass will be dedicated at St Helen's Catholic Church in Vero Beach on July 19, 2024, at noon. (Live stream is HERE )

Burial services will be in West Chester, PA at a date still to be determined.

In lieu of flowers the family asks to please send donations in her name to the St. Helen's Church food pantry, where Fran volunteered for years (St. Helen Catholic Church – Vero Beach, FL ( HERE ) or St Jude's Children's Hospital (HERE)