Anna DISCO

Family/Spouse: Frederick H. DOUGLASS. Frederick was born on 16 Jul 1884 in Black Brook, Clinton Co., New York; died on 3 Nov 1963 in Lake Placid, Essex Co., New York; was buried in Saint Agnes Cemetery, Lake Placid, Essex Co., New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

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Business woman, philanthropist, loving mother and grandmother, Frances Douglass Silleck ("Fran") was the daughter of the late Frederick H. Douglass (1884-1963) and Anna Disco-Douglass (1889-1974). She married H. Garrison ("Garry") Silleck (1904-1984) of New York City in St. Agnes Church of Lake Placid on Oct. 16, 1948. Garry was the son of H. Garrison Silleck Jr. (1870-1962), a lumber magnate from Bronx County, New York City, and Amanda Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ruppert (1878-1952) of New York City, daughter of beer magnate, Jacob Ruppert Sr. (1842-1915) and Anna Gillig-Ruppert (1842-1924). Frances was his fourth wife who raised his only child, Joan Willets Silleck-Wheelwright-Schneider.

Frances was predeceased by two brothers, Roderick W. Douglass (1917-1996) and Gerald K. Douglass (1925-2003); two sisters, Gladys Douglass-Swift (1908-1974) and Marie Douglass-Goodsell (1910-1987). She and Garry had no children, but she had a step-daughter, Joan Willets Silleck-Wheelwright-Schneider (1931-2003, former wife of designer Roger Oakley Wheelwright) from her husband's previous marriages (two) to Adelaide Willets Slosson of Greenwich, Connecticut. Mrs. Silleck is survived by one brother, Frederick H. Douglass Jr. of Camarillo, CA.; and nieces, nephews and step-grandchildren including Cathy, Lisa, Nancy and Richard Garrison Wheelwright of Jupiter, Florida.

Mrs. Silleck was a graduate of Lake Placid High School, Class of 1931, and the Mildred Elly Business College in Albany, N.Y. During the summer Olympics of 1932, at the age of 19, she served as a personal assistant to Count Henri de Baillet-Latour (1876-1942), third president of the International Olympic Committee. She managed the Lake Placid Real Estate and Insurance Agency and was on the boards of the Lake Placid Memorial Hospital and Uihlein Mercy Center. Mrs. Silleck was an avid sportswoman, a supporter of many local charities and well-known for her remark, "Remember to keep the tread in your tires."

Donations in her memory may be made to either of the Frances Douglass Silleck Trusts: Adirondack Community Trust (2284 Saranac Avenue) and Uihlein Mercy Center (185 Old Military Road), both of Lake Placid, New York 12946.
--- K. Jacob Ruppert, New York/New Orleans.

Frances married Henry Garrison SILLECK, III on 16 Oct 1948. Henry (son of Henry Garrison SILLECK, Jr. and Amanda Elizabeth RUPPERT) was born on 12 Apr 1906 in New York City, New York; died on 11 Feb 1984 in Palm Beach, Florida. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]