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Francis Allen Saunders - Class of 1945
Submitted by Fran Olson Gustafson 1965 <fgustafson917@gmail.com>
on 17/Jan/2023
107.145.178.172
Francis Allen Saunders - A memorial service celebrating the
life of Francis Allen Saunders, 95, who passed away on
January 2, 2023, will be held at Clymer Funeral Home &
Cremations on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. A
visitation will be held before the service from 10:00 a.m.
until 10:30 a.m. He will be inurned at Jacksonville National
Cemetery with military honors at 2:00 p.m. on Monday,
January 23, 2023.
Francis, better known to friends and family by his middle
name Allen, was a lifelong resident of New York, but moved
to Palm Coast in 2005. Born in Newburgh, New York on
September 7, 1927, Allen was the third of the seven children
produced by Arthur D. and Frances E. Saunders, and he loved
his family intensely. Largely self-educated, in 1944, he
left school at an early age of 17 to enlist in the Navy and
assist the war effort in WWII, even though he was underage
and needed the permission of his mother. He served two
separate enlistments in the Navy, (1944-46 and 1948-52) the
second of which he achieved the rating of Able Bodied
Seaman, a rarity for men of color in the newly desegregated
Navy of 1948.
In the late 1950s Allen met and married Naomi McTier and
produced one son, Gregory Allen Saunders. He worked as a
Merchant Marine until his retirement. He was a member of the
National Maritime Union, and the VFW. His hobbies included
CB Radio, cowboy movies, boating and playing cards.
He is survived by his son, Gregory A. Saunders of
Bridgeport, CT; four grandsons, Brent G. Saunders, Brandon
A. Saunders, Bryce A. Saunders and Terrence J. Saunders; his
sister, Gloria A. Wilder of Palm Coast, FL, and a host of
nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.
Allen is preceded in death by his wife, Naomi E. Saunders;
brothers; Arthur D. Saunders, Donald A. Saunders, Cyril G.
Saunders; sisters, Jeanne M. Allen, Joyce L. Saunders. -
September 7, 1927 - January 2, 2023
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