Obituary: Frances Jane “Jamen” Trask

Frances Jane “Jamen” Trask, 97, passed away on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, at 3 p.m. at her home in Prescott, Arizona with her family by her side.

Born May 16, 1919, in Springfield, Massachusetts to Marion Steel and George Wellington Hayden, Jamen was an intelligent, loving, and proper lady who completed a crossword puzzle at breakfast every day. She was an avid reader, and enjoyed playing bridge, watching many bird feeders, meeting with her “Coffee and Conversation” group, dining with family and friends, and volunteering. Jamen and her late husband John loved to dance and organize neighborhood block parties. They volunteered for everything from church and PTA, to the School for the Blind, fire department and Chamber of Commerce events. Jamen taught her children to recognize and be thankful for their good fortune and to help others who may be less fortunate. She kept very active even in her later years, and stayed healthy by walking through her beautiful neighborhood. Jamen graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1941, where she earned a B.A. degree and later worked for Crum and Forester Insurance Company as a claims representative, after raising her five daughters.

Jamen was preceded in death by her husband, Lt. John Crawford Trask, Jr.; and daughters Marion “Rusty” Trask, Sally Trask, and Jamen Trask Alford. She is survived by her daughters, Peggy Zimmerman and Patricia White; sister Barbara Wright; grandson TJ Zimmerman; granddaughters Natalie Alford Heath, Dawn Zimmerman, and Susan Zimmerman Crandall; great-grandchildren Samuel and Olivia Heath; as well as Jamen’s beloved cat, Furbee.

No funeral services are planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to People Who Care, P.O. Box 12907, Prescott, AZ 86304, or CCJ (Coalition for Compassion and Justice), P.O. Box 1882, Prescott, AZ 86302.

Information provided by survivors.