Mary Franklin

Mary Nordback Franklin, 89, recently of Fairmont, West Virginia, died peacefully on January 1, 2021 in Indiana, Pennsylvania.  

​She was born on March 22, 1931 in San Francisco, California, the daughter of the late Hjalmar Nordback and Hannah Hakala Nordback.  Mary grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Commerce High School in 1949.  On March 31, 1950 she married Arthur J. Franklin.  During the 1950’s Mary worked at the telephone company in San Francisco.  While Arthur served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1952 – 1954, Mary was with him in North Carolina.  Mary and Arthur later lived and worked in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Logansport, Indiana;and Bowling Green, Kentucky, where they retired in 1993.   Mary worked in Patient Accounts at Graves-Gilbert Medical Clinic and Arthur worked as an electrical engineer for Eaton Corporation. Mary and Arthur moved to Fairmont in 2008.  In 2018, after the death of her husband, she moved to Indiana, Pennsylvania to live with her daughter’s family.

Arthur and Mary were life-long members of the Church of the Nazarene and actively involved in church work in each city in which they lived.  They were members of Fairmont First Church of the Nazarene.  In their 67 years of marriage, they enjoyed many other pursuits, such as traveling.  They visited all 50 states and a number of foreign countries.  In their family circle they were especially fond of playing games and working puzzles.  

​Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur, her brother, John Hjalmar Nordback, and her granddaughter, Elisabeth Rahkonen.  

​She is survived by her daughter, Sharon, and her husband, Carl Rahkonen, of Indiana, Pennsylvania; daughter, Linda, and her husband, Gary Maffioli, of Fairmont, West Virginia; son, Steven, and his wife, Mary, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; grandson, Jason Maffioli, and his wife, Darcie, of Oakland, California; granddaughters, Johanna and Sara Rahkonen, of Indiana, Pennsylvania; and great-grandson, Everett Maffioli, of Oakland, California.

​A private burial will take place in Greenwood Cemetery, Indiana, Pennsylvania.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Make-a-Wish Foundation. Make-a-Wish, 707 Grant St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1938, www.greaterpawv.wish.org.  

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