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Summary
A Jean LaFreniere was nominated for the Beaver Island Civic Association Governing Board in the December 1974 Beaver Beacon, and a Jean LaFreniere of Beaver Island — given fully as “Mrs. C. Jean LaFreniere, 56” — was injured in a Charlevoix traffic accident the following January while traveling with her husband, “Vernon (Dick) LaFreniere,” to a funeral. Which Jean LaFreniere this is cannot be settled from the sources read for this article: at least two women of that name were active in the Beaver Island LaFreniere family in this period.
Evidence and limits
Two independent 1972 and 1974 sources — a hospital note naming “Mrs. V. H. (Jean) LaFreniere” and an unrelated obituary naming “Mrs. Vernon (Jean) LaTreniere,” born a Zeitler — agree that Vernon Hugh “Dick” LaFreniere’s wife by the early 1970s was named Jean, and that she was close in age to her husband (born 1914) rather than to the cemetery’s Jean C. LaFreniere (1940– 2019). The 56-year-old crash victim of January 1975, implying a birth year around 1918–19, matches this older Jean far better than the cemetery’s younger one. A separate Holy Cross Cemetery entry for a Beaver Island Jean C. LaFreniere (1940–2019), daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth LaFreniere (see Patrick W. LaFreniere), is the identity a prior pass on this record used to bridge the December 1974 nominee — but that bridge does not fit the crash victim’s stated age, and it may in any case describe a third woman, since Patrick and Elizabeth’s own daughter Jean is separately recorded in 1971 under a married name, Mrs. Jean Osmolinski. Vernon Hugh "Dick" LaFreniere discusses the related, likewise contested question of whether Dick’s wife by 1972–75 was this Jean or the Musette Belfy LaFreniere the cemetery index names for him. No source read here states which Jean the Civic Association nominated.
Open questions
- Was the December 1974 Civic Association nominee the older Jean [Zeitler] LaFreniere (Vernon “Dick” LaFreniere’s wife) or the younger Jean C. LaFreniere (1940–2019, daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth LaFreniere)?
- Is Jean C. LaFreniere (1940–2019) the same woman recorded in 1971 as “Mrs. Jean Osmolinski,” Isabelle LaFreniere’s sister?
- Did either candidate win one of the five January 9, 1975 Governing Board seats? No source read gives a result.
See also
Kin
The dated record
Sources
- Lists Jean LaFreniere as a nominee for one of five Beaver Island Civic Association Governing Board seats in the announced January 9, 1975 election, alongside Carol LaFreniere ([[person/carol-lafreniere-1974]]); it provides no result and no qualifying first name or spouse.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-12_Beaver-Beacon
- The held nine-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1974-12_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports "Mrs. C. Jean LaFreniere, 56," a Beaver Island resident, injured in a Charlevoix crash on Bridge Street on or before January 13, 1975, while there with her husband, "Vernon (Dick) LaFreniere," to attend the funeral of Erwin Belfy, Sr. She is treated for a fractured kneecap and lacerations at Charlevoix Area Hospital. Her age (56) implies a birth year around 1918–19, close to her husband's reported 1914 birth. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
- The scan confirms the accident and hospital notices.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1975-01_Beaver-Beacon
- Names "Mrs. Vernon (Jean) LaTreniere of St. James, Beaver Island" as one of Zeitler's four surviving sisters — an independent source, unrelated to the election or accident, that gives Vernon (Dick) LaFreniere's wife's given name as Jean and her birth family as Zeitler, born close to her brother's 1920 birth year.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1974-04_Beaver-Beacon
- Reports "Mrs. V. H. (Jean) LaFreniere was a patient in the Charlevoix Hospital," using her husband's formal initials — Vernon Hugh, i.e. [[person/dick-lafreniere-1962]] — and confirming Jean as his wife's name as early as 1972.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1972-06_Beaver-Beacon
- Separately lists Jean C. LaFreniere (1940–2019), child of Patrick and Elizabeth Floyd LaFreniere ([[person/patrick-lafreniere-1959]]) — a second, much younger candidate for the December 1974 nominee, since a July 1971 Beacon obituary names a "Mrs. Jean Osmolinski of Lowell" as a daughter of that same couple, raising the possibility (unconfirmed) that Jean C. LaFreniere reverted to her birth surname after that marriage.
Added 1 August 2026 · revised 4 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Jean LaFreniere”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/people/jean-lafreniere/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, December 1974, “Election.” (and 6 further sources listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-04. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.