Deborah Cole French, 1930–2021

Deborah French

Deborah Cole French died quietly at home on August 20 in Lincoln. She was born Charlotte Deborah Cole on August 15, 1930 to Horace and Charlotte Cole and grew up in Newton. Deb attended Briarcliffe College (Class of ‘50) and married John Brand French in 1951. They lived briefly in Newport, R.I. and Key West, Fla., then in Cambridge, Mass., and settled in Lincoln in 1956, where they resided for the rest of their lives.

Together Deb and Jack raised a family of four children in Lincoln and were active members of the community. Deb was a constant reader, an avid learner, and a concerned and engaged citizen. She served on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Student Exchange Committee for many years, and on a variety of civic committees in Lincoln and at the First Parish Church. She was an avid horticulturalist and gardener and a dedicated gallery instructor at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where she became a knowledgeable art historian through courses at the MFA about the museum’s collections. Her knowledge of art, both historical and contemporary, enlivened several trips around the U.S. and to Europe and Asia with Jack.

Deb and Jack spent more than 50 summers on Vinalhaven, Maine, where they dove into the project of creating a summer home on the site of an old granite quarry. Deb loved “rearranging nature” in her rock garden and landscaping at the quarry. They enjoyed being part of the Vinalhaven community and sharing their special place with children and grandchildren. 

Deb’s warmth, elegance and thoughtfulness, and strong opinions, will be remembered fondly and vividly by her family: brother Herbert M. Cole, son John Jr. (Olga Zizich), daughters Lindsay (Peter O’Neill) and Hilary (Christopher Foster), daughter-in-law Julie Henderson, grandchildren Danya, Karina, Piper, Ian, Alec, Lyle, and Eli, step-grandchildren Jason, Daniel, Alice, and Claire, and her many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by Jack, her husband of 67 years, son Stratton (Tony), and an infant grandson, Corbin.

A memorial service is planned for November 20, 2021 in Lincoln. The time will be confirmed soon and posted on the Dee Funeral Home website once finalized. In lieu of flowers, you are welcome to donate in her memory to First Parish in Lincoln, Doctors Without Borders, or Native American Rights Fund.

Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord. Condolences may be sent to P.O. Box 6303, Lincoln, MA 01773 or her online guestbook.