Frances Maureen (Williams) Sikand, 89, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away peacefully on February 1, 2021.  Frances (Fran) was born in Litchfield, Connecticut to the late Charles and Emma Williams. She was one of five girls and a twin. Growing up in the country, she and her sisters had many adventures.

Fran attended Litchfield High School where she was a multi-sport athlete and the first woman to receive the school’s outstanding athlete award. She worked two jobs in high school, one at the Litchfield Tax Collector and the second at the Tollgate Dairy ice cream shop - where her family suspects she developed her lifelong love of ice cream.

Fran attended Boston University and earned her degree in Physical Therapy in 1953. In college, she continued to play sports and earn awards. While in Boston, Fran became a huge Red Sox fan. After college, she worked at New York State Rehabilitation Center in Haverstraw. In New York, Fran met her husband Sage, a medical doctor from India, and they married in 1954.  They resided in Manhattan and started a family. Ultimately, they settled in Mansfield, Connecticut where they became lifelong residents raising their eight children 

Fran loved her children and was actively involved in their lives. She often volunteered and coached many activities.  Fran was instrumental in starting a girl’s swim team at the YMCA and the girls’ soccer team at E.O. Smith high school. In addition to raising her own children, Fran played an active part in the lives of her nieces and nephews when they came from India to America. 

Fran had a strong sense of community and served on the Mansfield Town Council from 1977 to 1985. When she had to step down to take care of her son who suffered a traumatic brain injury, the Mayor recognized Fran stating, “the council will miss Fran’s conscientious pursuit of fairness, forthright expression of concern and tenacity in exploring the issues.”

Fran was active in many organizations over the course of her life. She was a member of the Saint Joseph’s Church Women’s Club, on the Red Cross Board of Directors, Windham Hospital Auxiliary, the County, and State Medical Associations, University of Connecticut League, United States Power Squadron District #1 and she was a longtime parishioner of Saint Thomas Aquinas Church.

Spending time with family and friends was especially important to Fran; she would host annual holiday parties for the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s.  She also cherished the time she spent with loved ones vacationing on Cape Cod.  Fran enjoyed many hobbies.  She appreciated art through oil painting and charcoal drawing.  She was an avid bridge player, she shared good food when she taught Indian cooking classes and she learned about her own history when she researched her genealogy.

Even after a diagnosis of early -onset Parkinson’s, Fran continued to live life to the fullest. She continued to be active in her new community as a member of the MCNR nursing home resident council and was a representative at the Connecticut Council on Aging annual meeting. Fran handled her illness with grace, dignity, and unprecedented inner strength.  Fran was a loving, charismatic, kind-hearted, generous person and was a role model, leader, and inspiration to many.  Fran was an icon. She truly was an extraordinary and authentic woman who will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and community.

Fran leaves her beloved children Paul Sikand and his wife Mary, Mark Sikand and his fiancée Hedy Kende, Marsha Lindstrom and her husband Bruce, Brenda Mathews and her husband Michael, Carla Sikand and her husband Armando Galindo, Chris Sikand and his wife Kathy. Additionally, she leaves her loving grandchildren whom she adored, Parker, Hannah, Megan, Victoria, Kevin, Alexandra, Kathrina, Sarah, Dominic, Keaira, Timothy, Daniel, Margaret, and her precious great-grandchildren Isabella and Owen. She also leaves behind her loving sisters and their husbands, Mary and Ray McNamara, Catherine Litka, Rose and Joe Mazzotta, and Marge Neri.  Also, Fran leaves many nieces and nephews and her dear friend Helen Collins. Frances joins in eternal peace with her parents Charles and Emma Williams, her beloved Sage, daughter Rani Karen Trudeau, son Neil Gregory Sikand and son-in-law Michael Trudeau.

The family thanks Mansfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation for their tireless care and compassion for Fran.  We thank her extraordinary Parkinson’s doctor, Dr. Maria Moro-de-Casillas who supported her on her journey and was always on top of the latest treatments and advancements.

A private mass of Christian burial was celebrated at Saint Thomas Aquinas Church in Storrs on February 13, 2021. 

A Graveside Service will be held on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 11:00am at Storrs Cemetery.  This service will be live streamed.  

Donations in Fran’s memory can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, www.michaeljfox.org, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 or The American Parkinson Disease Association, www.apdaparkinson.org PO Box 61420 Staten Island, NY 10306.