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  Grace Johnson Defrancesco
Grace Johnson Defrancesco was born in New York November 27, 1921 to George C. Johnson and Gertrude Beck. She had one brother George and in Rye her family lived at 51 Orchard Lane.
Grace attended Rye schools and was a Rye High School graduate, class of 1939. She was was a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
 Grace enlisted and served in the Women's Army Corps. During World War II, she served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army's Women's Corps in the Pacific Theater under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
General Douglas MacArthur called the WACs "my best soldiers", adding that they worked harder, complained less and were better disciplined than men. Many generals wanted more of them and proposed to draft women but it was realized that this "would provoke considerable public outcry and Congressional opposition", and so the War Department declined to take such a drastic step. Those 150,000 women who did serve released the equivalent of 7 divisions of men for combat. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit and determination are immeasurable".
 While Grace was serving in the pacific, her brother George C. Johnson was killed in England on November 25. 1944, in his new role as a test pilot. He had previously completed 30 combat missions over Germany.
After the war, Grace worked as the Court Stenographer for the Village of Port Chester. She married Louis V. DeFrancesco April 27, 1954 in Stamford, CT. They would have four children.
Grace was a very talented singer and actress. For many years, she enjoyed singing in the choir at the Church of the Holy Spirit. She was an active member of the Franciscan Monastery Third Order.
Grace Johnson Defrancesco of Palm Beach Gardens, FL (formerly of Stamford) died on Tuesday, March 1, 2005 as the result of a postoperative infection. She was 83. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Louis V. DeFrancesco, D.D.S., and a son Mark H. DeFrancesco.
At the time of her death, she was survived by a son, Louis V. DeFrancesco, Jr. of Wilton, Connecticut, two daughters, Christianne Miller of Laguna Beach, California, and Yvonne M. DeFrancesco of Weston, Connecticut, and eight grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Spirit, 403 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford. Burial will follow in the Queen of Peace Cemetery, Stamford.
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