Obituary of Marie-Antoinette Haeringer

Marie-Antoinette Haeringer, 95, of Great Falls, Virginia, died on March 20, 2014. Wife of the late Washington D.C. area restaurateur François Haeringer, Marie-Antoinette Haeringer was born to Jacques and Antoinette Clare on November 15, 1918, in San Sebastián in the Basque region of Spain. After World-War II, Mrs. Haeringer began working as a hotel manager at a ski resort in the Pyrenees mountains, where she met her future husband, François, a chef at the same resort. The couple married in 1948 and moved to Washington D.C., where Mrs. Haeringer worked as a secretary to the French ambassador and Mr. Haeringer opened Chez François restaurant in the Claridge Hotel. When the Claridge Hotel closed in 1975, the couple moved to Virginia where they opened L'Auberge Chez François restaurant in Great Falls. The new restaurant was a family affair, with Mrs. Haeringer working along with her husband and three sons in running what has become a renowned restaurant known for marriage proposals, celebrations of all kinds, and family memories. Although Mrs. Haeringer retired from her work in the late nineteen-nineties, she continued to join her sons at the restaurant each day for their nightly family dinner. Mrs. Haeringer was joined by her sons, a granddaughter, and other family-friends at this customary meal last Sunday, when she fell ill and was taken to Reston Hospital where she passed away peacefully with her family alongside her. Marie-Antoinette Haeringer is survived by her sons Paul, Robert, and Jacques, of Virginia, and her grandchildren Gabrielle, Matthew, Marc, and Madeleine. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, March 28, at 11am at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 1020 Springvale Road, Great Falls, Virginia, followed by graveside services at Arnon Cemetery, also in Great Falls. Arrangements made by Adams-Green Funeral Home, Herndon VA.