Obituary: Francis Denis d’Evegnée, 80, Of Danbury

Information and Photo Courtesy Green Funeral Home

DANBURY, CT — Francis Denis d’Evegnée of Danbury passed away peacefully on Oct. 20, 2023 at West Haven VA Medical Center, leaving a legacy of dedication to his family, humor, stimulating conversation, and a strong testimony of Jesus Christ.

Fran was born on Dec. 15, 1942 in Liege, Belgium to parents Paul Joseph d’Evegnée and Germaine Kerckaert d’Evegnée. Fran came to the United States as a young child with his parents and brothers, Richard and Denis, crossing the Atlantic by ship. The family first settled in Utah where they gained a sister, Danielle. Then moved to Connecticut, where the family finally settled.

Fran had many adventures throughout his childhood growing up in Danbury. Many involved his siblings, neighbors and an infamous Boy Scout troop. Fran graduated from Danbury High School in 1961. He served in the Army from 1964-1966 and then graduated from Utah State University. Fran came back to Connecticut where he met Kathleen (Devine) d’Evegnée. They married in 1971 and had two beautiful children Noelle (Marvin) Willey and Eric (Sarah) d’Evegnée.

Fran is survived by his siblings, Richard and Danielle and eight amazing grandchildren that he loves dearly: Holden, Ethan, Caleb, Eve, Peter, Marie, Matthew and Charlie.

Fran will always be remembered for his sense of humor, love of exotic foods, stimulating conversations and testimony of Jesus Christ. His great love for genealogy and family history work led him to work and serve so many of his own ancestors as well as those of other people. This love of family is what permeated his relationships with so many of us.

Services will be held in the Newton Ward Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 16 Saw Mill Road, Newtown, CT 06470. The family will receive friends on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 at noon, followed by funeral at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to any of the following organizations:

Signature for Soldiers
LDS Church Missionary Fund
The University of Dayton’s ECHO Program