Francis J. Gavaghan, 88, of Freedom, formerly of Washington Township, passed away Saturday after a long illness.

He was the beloved husband of Colleen (Sullivan); loving father of Mary Pat Jones (James), Rosanne Stevens (Robert), Kathryn Gavaghan (Scott Sanner), Patrick (Beth) and Brian (Wendy); proud grandfather of Allison, Madeline and Bridget Jones, Kathryn, Tyler and Caroline Stevens, Jack, Timothy and Eileen Sanner, Matthew and Luke Gavaghan, and Nora and Daniel Gavaghan; brother of James and Ann Nolan of Indianapolis, Ind., Mary Battista of South Bend, Ind., and the late Joseph, Robert, Eileen Meiners and Kathleen Gawrys; and the son of the late James and Nora (O'Brien). He also is survived by many nieces and nephews.

Frank was born in Indianapolis.

He was a lieutenant during World War II in the U.S. Army Air Corps, flying more than 60 missions as a navigator/bombardier in B-52s in the South Pacific theater.

He was a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in chemical engineering and worked for many years in the nuclear fuels division of Westinghouse Electric.

<B>GAVAGHAN</B> — Friends of Francis J. Gavaghan, who died Saturday, March 21, 2009, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the <B>DEVLIN FUNERAL HOME OF CRANBERRY</B>, 2678 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township, 724-772-8800. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the St. Ferdinand Church, 2535 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township. Everyone is to meet at the church. Interment will be in the Holy Savior Cemetery, 4629 Bakerstown Road, Gibsonia.In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, 3471 Fifth Ave., Suite 811, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 or to the Activities Fund at Worthington at Adams, 500 Seven Fields Blvd., Mars, PA 16046.