St. Marie, Francis Edward

Francis Edward St. Marie, age 84, of Columbia, CT died Monday, March 1, 2021 from complications of COVID. Frank was born March 11, 1936 i n Stafford Springs, CT, the son of Mildred Gertrude (Grant) and Howard Francis St. Marie.

He i s survived by his l oving wife of 62 years, Constance “Connie” Jane ( Argenta) St. Marie, originally f r om Stafford Springs. He i s also survived by his children Peter St. Marie of Easthampton, MA, Michael St. Marie of Little Rock, AK and his partner Donna Parker, Michelle Zahansky of Willimantic, CT and her husband Michael, Anthony St. Marie of Manchester, CT and his wife Janet, and Jacqueline St. Marie of Lebanon, CT and her partner Randy Juliani; his grandchildren Andrew Zahansky, Joshua Zahansky, Jake Zahansky, Brian Andrychowski, Ben Andrychowski, Sam Andrychowski, Sarah Andrychowski and Stephanie St. Marie; and his great grandchildren Paxton Andrychowski and Rowan Andrychowski.

Frank graduated fr om Stafford High School i n 1954. After a semester at the University of Connecticut he enlisted i n t he Navy. After graduating f i r st i n his class, he was stationed at Long Beach, CA as a Fire Control Technician aboard the USS Bremerton (CA-130). During the ship’s Western Pacific cruise i n 1956-1957 he visited Pearl Harbor, Guam, Kwajalein Atoll, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Australia. It was on t his t our t hat he got most of his many t attoos. After t he navy he returned back to Connecticut and married his high school sweetheart Connie.

For a short time after the Navy, Frank was a police officer i n Willimantic, CT, with several of his arrests being reported i n t he Hartford Courant. I n 1963 he started work at Electric Boat in Groton, CT, from where he retired i n 1994. He started work as an electronics technician overhauling submarines, working his way up to be a manager of Electronic Test for the Trident submarine program.

Frank had a l i f e- l ong i nterest i n music and was a l over of Blues and Jazz. He played saxophone in high school and throughout his tour i n the Navy. His main hobbies were photography and computers.

He also served his community as a member of t he Columbia Volunteer Fire Department responding to many numerous late-night calls.

Services will be held at a l ater date. I n l i eu of f l owers, please wear a mask and get vaccinated. To sign an online guestbook visit www.potterfuneralhome.com