Frances F. Morgan
1920-2013
Rock Port, Missouri

Frances Fern (Craig) Morgan was born November 14, 1920, in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was one of three children born to Hiram Harrison and Blanche Fern (Slack) Craig. She received her early education in Lincoln Public Schools, and attended Brownville High School.

She was baptized and a lifelong member of the Brownville Christian Church and the Brownville Kensington. She was a teacher’s aide at Locust Grove Country School between Brownville and Auburn, as part of the Green Thumb Project. She was also a tour guide for the Brownville Historical Society. She enjoyed Bingo, the slot machines, and game shows. She always joked her epitaph should say “I’d rather be playing Bingo!”

Frances was a loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and grandmother. Responsibility was thrust on her at the early age of 14. She became the head of the family when her father, a fireman with the Lincoln Fire Department, was injured in the line of duty. He died from his injuries two years later. Two days before he died, in 1936, she negotiated a settlement with the City of Lincoln. Frances and her family then moved to Brownville.

In 1938, she married Ernest Pebley, and they became the parents of four daughters. They were later divorced.

During World War II, Frances met the love her life, William O. “Bill” Morgan, at a dance. They fell in love, singing and dancing to Glenn Miller, the Dorseys, Benny Goodman, and all the big bands. “In the Mood” was their song.

Bill and Frances married on August 18, 1948, in Tarkio, Missouri. Their children became one big family and they became the parents of two more children. They made their home in Rock Port, Missouri.

In 1962, Bill had a massive stroke, and again she had to step up. She took care of him faithfully for 14 years, while raising their six children. These were rough years, but very happy ones. In 1967, they built a home in Brownville, Nebraska, and moved there so she could be near her mother and sister, Mae, and help care for them. Bill passed away in 1976, and Frances continued to make her home in Brownville until 2005, when she returned to Rock Port.

Farmers Home Administration honored her in 2000 for being one of the few home owners in the nation to pay off a 33-year loan. She was very proud of this accomplishment. She was always proud of her home, and was a meticulous housekeeper, a trait she passed on to her children. Always busy, she could never understand someone “just sitting.”

Frances was an exceptional cook, especially known for her Sunday dinners, which she did well into her eighties. Sunday afternoons would be filled with board games, Rummy, Boggle, music on the stereo, even dancing. (Of course, this was after the dishes were done and the floor was scrubbed!) Christmas time meant weeks of candy-making. She could pull a seven course meal out of her freezer, and always had several pies made ahead, just in case. No one ever left her house hungry, and they were usually loaded down with leftovers for the coming week.

Frances was definitely one of a kind. Although she had no formal education, she was very bright and quick-witted, often beating the contestants at the final Jeopardy answer. World capitals and state capitals were two of her favorite categories. She could still amaze people at 92 by saying the alphabet backwards.

Firm but loving, if she was on your side, you had a great ally. But if you weren’t . . . look out! “My way or the highway” is a fitting way to describe her philosophy of life. Fighting battles for others was part of her demeanor. She was a people person, able to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere. She could strike up a conversation with a stranger, and by the time it was over, they had told her their life story. This made for many interesting anecdotes over the Sunday dinner table.

She was a huge influence on her children’s and grandchildren’s lives. Every one of them has a special story or remembrance of Grandma Frances. Even her grandchildren’s friends were special, some of them calling her Grandma or G.F. When she moved in with her daughter, Tommie, she acquired even more “grandkids” from Tommie’s daycare. She sang them songs, told stories, rocked them to sleep, and handed out gumdrops to dry their tears.

Frances passed away March 18, 2013, at Pleasant View Nursing Home at the age of 92.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Bill; sisters, Eva Mae Betts and infant, Evelyn Faye; grandson, Kenneth Stanley Shepherd, Jr.; great-grandson, Darius Schulenberg; stepchildren, Joan Kemerling Logan and Charlie Bill Morgan; half-sisters, Edith Wager, and Jessie Scarbrough; half-brother, Raymond Craig; and sons-in-law, Jerry Mount and Virgil Taylor.

She is survived by her children: Janice (Max) Geib, Fairfax, Missouri; Sherry (Wayne) Gatz and Judy Miller, both of Falls City, Nebraska; Donna (Kenny) Shepherd, Brownville; Dick (Billie) Morgan and Tommie (Wayne) Miles, Rock Port; 15 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great grandchildren.

Mom, your battle is over now. Some people might have been intimidated by you, maybe didn’t like you, but you had such an inner strength that no one could ever say you weren’t tough. We think God knew you could handle anything the world threw at you. We’re just not sure how well the world could handle what you threw back.

Rest in peace now. You have won the biggest jackpot of all . . . a place in Heaven. We will love you and miss you and will hold you in our hearts forever and ever.

Services: 10:30 A.M., Thursday, March 21, 2013, Minter Funeral Chapel, Rock Port.
Interment: Walnut Grove Cemetery, Brownville, Nebraska.
There is no scheduled family visitation.
Memorials: Frances Morgan Memorial Fund.
Online obituaries and condolences at www.minterfuneralchapels.com
Services: Minter Funeral Chapel, Rock Port.