Mary ‘Fran’ Klappenberger

8/16/1939 – 6/7/2026

Mom lived a full life of almost 87 years. It is nearly impossible to cover the many things she accomplished, taught and experienced. Anyone that she ever met and talked with would always remember her. Her life was worthy of a novel. She was open, honest and provided a point of view that often surprised people. She was one of a kind. Expressing her love in words and actions was always a top priority. She would never hesitate to tell you she was proud of something you did. It wasn’t just to be nice, because if she didn’t think you were doing something well she would also let you know. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her sons, grandsons and anyone she loved. She was never shy about praising any of us for the good things we did. Beyond her speaking praise, she was always an excellent listener when you needed to talk. I don’t know how many hours I spent talking her ear off while I was getting through college, but she always listened.

Her caring extended beyond her family. She had so much empathy for those who struggled -- whether she knew them or not. She donated generously to many different causes and truly cared about people or animals that were in need. She also gave of her time - volunteering at nursing homes, teaching prisoners to read and was a docent at historic buildings in Baltimore.

Mom led a very interesting life and made friends with a wide variety of people: white, black straight, gay, old and young. It was her acceptance of others that taught me to be more understanding and patient with the people I met.

Travel with friends and family brought her tremendous joy. Whether it was time spent in Ocean City with her then 3 teenage sons or traveling with friends, she loved the adventure of it all. She traveled with friends to France, Italy, Dominican Republic, New York City, Cape Cod and more. She traveled solo to San Francisco and to visit her sister in Utah, her brother in Washington state and a couple of times to Alaska to visit friends from high school. On many of those trips she would venture out on her own for a few days – always wanting to experience all that an area had to offer. Mom traveled out west with two of us sons on separate trips. One of my most memorable trips ever was her and I hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon. I was 21 and she was 48. It was hot but at least it was downhill the first day. We setup our tent near a stream in Indian Gardens and walked out to Plateau Point in the evening. It was there we met a couple women from out of the country who took a picture for us I will always cherish. We didn’t have our camera at the time and mom talked with them and they took a photo and sent it to us several weeks later. Back at camp after sunset, we were both surprised how cold it was at night and ended up battling

each other for the covers during the night. The next day we both had a case of shin splints. Hers were worse so I ended up carrying both or our backpacks for most of the climb out. When we reached the top the only thing we wanted was a hot tub to help repair our muscles. Unfortunately, that hot tub was a few hours away near Lake Powell. I still remember trying to walk up to the second floor at the hotel. At the end of the vacation we ended up in Las Vegas which was my first experience with casinos. She taught me the art of pulling handles on slot machines.

Mom enjoyed art as both an admirer and a creator. One of her favorite things to photograph were clouds. She and her sister, Helen, would exchange photos of clouds between the east coast and west coast. She took art classes and always had an eye for color. She noticed things that others would look past -- a leaf pattern or an especially colorful flower. Later in her life, she was making art using leaves from the coleus plants she grew on her balcony.

She loved nature and would sit outside in the winter just to ‘get some sun.’ She enjoyed going on walks, or later a wheelchair roll.

She wasn’t wealthy, but she was so proud of the things she had because she earned them. She bought many things on layaway – sometimes waiting a couple years to pay off a piece of art or a piece of clothing. She had a close net of girlfriends who were like sisters. She kept friends for a long time.

Mom had an incredible memory. She could remember things from her early childhood with vivid detail – what people were wearing and descriptions of places like she was just there for a visit. This continued throughout her life, and you could always count on her stories having exquisite detail -- maybe because she lived her life in the moment.

One of her greatest joys was becoming a grandmother. She loved Eric and Leo so completely and watching them grow into the young men they are gave her immense pride. She was always a part of their lives – driving to visit at least once a week when they were younger, having them over for sleepovers and taking them out for whatever adventure sounded good at the time. During Covid, she lived with us and the relationship with her grandsons only deepened. When she moved to assisted living, the boys helped take care of her – whether it was going over to play cards, taking her out shopping or taking her to appointments. From the day they were born she loved spending time with them and always couldn’t wait to see them again even if it would just be a couple days later. To her a day sometimes a felt like a month. She couldn’t get enough. She never thought she would be alive when they graduated high school, but she was and I surmise they helped keep her motivated to live.

In the last 10 years or so as her health started to decline, I always let her know how much I respected her perseverance in the face of so many challenges. She never gave up even though she was essentially wheel chair bound and didn’t have any real use of her hands. That didn’t stop her from trying. On her last day she signed her check for her monthly payment even though it wasn’t really legible. It was important to her. She was fiercely independent.

Mom was never afraid of feelings. If she was sad, she would cry. If she wanted a hug or to tell you she loves you, she would. She loved to touch and hold those she loved.

Mom was born in Baltimore MD to James and Mary Wilson. She was the older sister to John and Helen. She lived in Relay and then Arbutus before she moved on her own into her 1st apartment. She married and had 3 sons: Jim, David and Mark. In 1975 she was separated and eventually divorced. Mom never remarried.

The separation/divorce did not deter her from being a part of her sons lives even though she was going to school, working multiple jobs and starting another phase of her life. She would come down every weekend, or we would go and stay with her in Baltimore. She would always make a Sunday meal that would last us a few days into the week. She became a friend as much as a mother. She turned us on to certain music, took us to concerts, the Fells Point Festival, Artscape and introduced us to so many things outside of our suburban life. As we grew up, she supported all our endeavors and stood with us through our challenges.

While this might seem like a long obituary it isn’t. There are so many things I didn’t cover because everyone who knew her has their own stories. Fran was so caring, loving, honest, supportive, independent and a rock n roll party girl to the end. Manhattan Up anyone?

I will miss her most for the support and acknowledgment she would give me when I did something worthy and being able to talk with her about her son, my brother Jim, who passed 8 years ago.

Fran is survived by her sons David (Jean) Klappenberger, Mark (Peggy) Klappenberger her grandsons Eric Klappenberger, Leo Klappenberger her niece Angela, nephews Mike Johnson, Mike Wilson and Jim Wilson

A Celebration of Life for Fran will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 2:00PM Warehouse Creek 25 Warehouse Creek Lane Edgewater, MD 21037