Frances Hockman

    Frances Hyatt Hockman, who had moved to the house she and her husband built in the early 1980s on North Haven when her husband retired, died on May 26 at home of complications because of Parkinson’s disease. She was 70 years old.

    Mrs. Hockman was born on Nov. 8, 1940, in Lovelady, N.C., one of the three children of Samuel Perry Hyatt and the former Mursetis Young. Her sister, Theresa Hyatt Cotton of Tennessee, and brother, Robert Hyatt of North Carolina, survive, as do four nieces and two nephews.

    She attended Swain County High School near where she grew up in Cherokee, N.C. She was a salutatorian of her high school class and a majorette in the marching band. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mrs. Hockman remained a lifelong Tar Heels basketball fan.

    Her daughter Angela Hockman wrote that her mother “married her true love,” William Hockman, on Dec. 30, 1961, which was about the time the couple began visiting North Haven. They celebrated their 49th anniversary in December of last year. Mr. Hockman died on April 29.

    Mrs. Hockman moved with her husband to Tampa, Fla., and then to El Salvador to support his career in export management. She brought up their three children, Gregory Hockman of South Orange, N.J., Michelle Cunningham of Glen Rock, N.J., and Angela Hockman of Jamaica Plain, Mass., in Watchung, N.J. They survive.

    According to Ms. Hockman, her mother “ran her home like a well-oiled machine. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who never missed one of her children’s sporting events, and tended to her family’s needs with love and grace.” She derived much joy from her five grandchildren, who also survive.

    Mrs. Hockman enjoyed entertaining and was considered an accomplished cook, especially when she prepared coq au vin, Yorkshire pudding, rack of lamb, and cheese grits. Although she was fit and slim, she had a sweet tooth, being especially partial to Haagen Dazs ice cream, lemon-filled Godiva chocolates, chocolate pie, and cheese pie.

    Ms. Hockman also wrote that her mother “had a sharp wit and what she enjoyed most in life was to laugh.” She called her mother “a lovely human being: beautiful, kind, intelligent, loving, gentle, and funny. She walked through the world with true grace, and will be greatly missed.”

    An accomplished musician, Mrs. Hockman played not only the piano but also the saxophone, clarinet, flute, and guitar.

    A memorial service will be held at the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor at 2 p.m. on June 19. Memorial donations have been suggested in Mrs. Hockman’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780, New York City 10008-0780, or to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.