Frances Lafferty Saran, 92

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Frances Lafferty Saran, a retired Foreign Service officer, died of pulmonary disease Friday, March 16, 2007, in the Ginger Cove Retirement Community in Annapolis, where she resided since 1990. She was 92.

Mrs. Saran was born near Dover in 1914.

After graduation from Beacon Business College in Wilmington, she moved to Washington, D.C., to begin her employment with the U.S. State Department and to attend George Washington University where she received her bachelor's degree.

Her first foreign service posting was to Tokyo, in 1953, as embassy personnel officer, followed by postings to New Delhi, India, and to Tehran, Iran, where she arrived one month before President Kennedy's assassination. When she was in the host country, she immersed herself in the local culture and traveled as widely as possible to acquaint herself with the history and the people of the country. At the completion of the tour in Iran, she returned to Washington and retired after a 30-year career with the State Department.

Mrs. Saran joined the World Bank from 1973-79 as personnel officer assigned to the annual meetings in Nairobi, Manila and Belgrade.

After the death of her husband, G.R. "Sammy" Saran in 1980, she continued her love of travel by visiting countries throughout Europe and Asia. Then, at age 72, her lifelong interest in art motivated her to enroll at George Mason University, where she received her bachelor's degree in art history in 1990.

Mrs. Saran had wide-ranging interests in art, language, writing and travel, and was actively engaged in writing and painting until shortly before death.

She was an avid reader who participated in the Classics book club and was also a member of the editorial staff of the community's monthly newsletter.

Mrs. Saran was preceded in death by her brother, Frank Lafferty, in 2004.

She is survived by two nephews, Stephen Lafferty and Michael Lafferty, and their wives; a great-niece, Kathryn Lafferty; a great-nephew, Ryan Lafferty; and her sister-in-law, Jean Lafferty.

A memorial service will be held in the Friendship Hall at Ginger Cove on Monday at 1 p.m.

Condolences may be sent to the family at 1456 Grandview Road, Arnold, MD 21012.

Arrangements by Barranco and Sons, Severna Park Funeral Home.