Loretta Moore Favret

Loretta Moore Favret, long-time resident of the Washington D.C. area, died at Buckingham’s Choice residence in Adamstown MD. She was 91 years old.  She brought a vibrancy and intelligence to her intense spirituality, putting them all to work in her service to Catholic institutions locally and internationally.  She was born in Radford PA in 1927. A graduate of Rosemont College, she met and married Andrew G. Favret in Philadelphia in 1949, moving with him to El Paso TX, Boston MA, and finally to the Washington area in 1955. Beginning in1960 and for decades following, Loretta and Andy Favret helped establish in the United States the Catholic married couples organization known as the Teams of Our Lady. Together they served for many years as the representative couple from the U.S. to the leadership committee of this international organization, fostering the growth of the Teams from a handful to thousands of members in the U.S. today.  Their deep commitment to and study of married spirituality led the Archdiocese of Washington to appoint Loretta and her husband to lead the training required for Catholics preparing for marriage in the1970s. A natural speaker and gifted performer, Loretta guided countless prospective couples with wisdom and humor. During those same years, she served on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Task Force on the Role of Women in the Church. For her exceptional service, the Pope awarded her the Benemerenti Medal. Graduates of Immaculata Preparatory School in Washington D.C. will remember the courses Mrs. Favret gave on Sexuality and Marriage from 1971 to1979. In the 1980s, sophomores at Good Counsel High School in Wheaton were treated to Mrs. Favret’s Church History course. She loved to teach; she loved to entertain. The door to her house was ever open: to Hungarian refugees, foreign students, lost seminarians and wandering souls. But her greatest contributions may have happened in more quiet spaces. Grateful for the guidance she had received, Loretta Favret trained to be a spiritual director, helping individuals who struggled with and in their faith. A contemplative extrovert or extrovert contemplative, she was drawn to the writings of mystics such as Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton. Alongside these many activities, Loretta Favret was the mother of eleven children, who inherited her sense of fun, wit, and limitless energy. She managed the daily round of cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, homework and activities for a household of thirteen boisterous individuals. Few things made her prouder than having her children fill an entire pew – or two—at Sunday mass. And few things warmed her heart more than the tight, loving bonds her children carried into adulthood. She is predeceased by her parents, Peter J. and Annemarie Davis Moore, her brother James P. Moore, her son Patrick J. Favret and her granddaughter Sophia P. Miller. Along with her husband, she is survived by her two sisters, Annemarie Moore Furey and Elizabeth Moore Brady. Ten of her eleven children and their spouses also survive her: Andrew A. and Elizabeth Byrd Favret; Peter J. and Diane L. Favret, Michael J. Favret, Mary Green Favret Kerley and Vincent Kerley, Thomas R. and Sylwia K. Favret, Mary A. Favret and Andrew H. Miller, James V. Favret and Vicki Barstow, Loretta M. Favret and Richard Mead, Martin A. and Cynthia H. Favret, John D. Favret, Anne M. Favret and William Gallagher. Twenty-two grandchildren and their spouses survive her--James (Jessica), Christopher (Jamie), Daniel and Stephen Favret; Emily Favret; Jane and Andrea Favret; Rebecca Favret and Amanda Favret Obradovic (Aleksander); Claire, Natalie and Peter Favret; Alexandra, Valerie and Patrick Favret; Nicholas and Michael Favret; Cass and Benedict Favret Miller; Andrew, Abigail and Aidan Gallagher—along with four great grandchildren: Rosie and Patrick, Jocelyn and Jordyn Favret.  A viewing will take place at 10:00 a.m. before the funeral Mass of the Resurrection at 11:00 a.m. December 1 at St. Joseph’s of Carroll Manor, in Frederick, MD. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to S.O.M.E. [So Others Might Eat] in Washington, D.C. https://www.some.org/give