Mary Frances Chretien Rasmussen Hartley

Published 1:23 pm Thursday, April 21, 2016

Mary Frances Chretien Rasmussen Hartley, 88, of Orange, Texas, passed away on April 20, 2016, in Houston, Texas.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 23, 2016, at First United Methodist Church in Orange. Officiating will be Reverend John Warren. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Orange.

Visitation will be prior to the service beginning at 12:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Orange.

Born in Houston, Texas, on December 26, 1927, she was the daughter of John Hamilton and Anna (Pointer) Chretien. Mary Frances graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas, in 1946 and was a member of the Red Hussars Drum and Bugle Corp. She went on to Lamar Junior College in Beaumont and graduated in 1949 from Jefferson Davis Hospital School of Medical Technology. She married Robert L. (Bob) Rasmussen in 1950 and they moved to Orange in 1952. Mary Frances became a member of First United Methodist Church in Orange in 1952 and served on many committees, including being a founding member of The Altar Guild, The Joy Group, and FidelisSunday School Class. She was a member of Service League of Orange since 1956 where she served as president twice, and a Life Master in Bridge. In 1983, she married Kenneth A. Hartley.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Robert L. Rasmussen, D.D.S., and Kenneth A. Hartley; son, Richard Robert Rasmussen; and brother, Robert Chretien, D.D.S.

Mary Frances is survived by her children, Anne Edwards and husband Boyd, of Orange, Carl Rasmussen and wife Melissa, of Canyon Lake, and Macy Jones and husband Don, of College Station; step-children, Cindy Rasch and husband Lynden and Lindy Pitre and husband James; grandchildren, Katie Shahan and husband Travis, Beth Murray and husband Sean, Will Rasmussen and wife Leticia, Robert Edwards and wife Ebi, Kaylin Booker and husband Stephen, Derby Jones, and Paris Jones; step-grandchildren, Matt Rasch and wife Christy, Sam Rasch and wife Thelma, and Adam Pitre; 10 great-grandchildren; 4 step-great-grandchildren; and her siblings, Marjorie Wanzel, Rev. John Christian, and Ret. Col. J. Richard Chretien, D.D.S.

Serving as pallbearers will be Robert Edwards, Will Rasmussen, Stephen Booker, Travis Shahan, Sean Murray, and Don Jones.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to First United Methodist Church of Orange at 502 N. 6th St. Orange, TX 77630.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to her loving caregiver, Yvette Cotton.