TAMA-Frances A. Smith, age 80, of Tama, died Monday, September 28, 2009, at her home. Memorial Services will be held Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 2 PM at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home in Tama with Pastor Jerry Avise-Rouse officiating. Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Tama. Friends may call from 1 – 2 PM Thursday at the funeral home.
Frances was born on February 8, 1929, in Colfax, Iowa, the daughter of Francis and L. Rosetta (Neal) Maxwell.
She attended rural school in Jasper County and graduated from Collins High School. Fran received her B.A. from Drake University, her Masters Degree from Northwestern University in Chicago and a PhD in Humanities and Fine Arts from the University of Chicago.
On December 7, 1947, she was united in marriage to R. Kenneth Smith at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in State Center, Iowa.
Fran was a certified Master gardener and a life member of the Central Region National Garden Club. She was also a member of the Marshalltown Federated Garden Club, the Iowa State Horticulture Society, the Tama County Foster Care Review Board, GFWC/Iowa Leadership, and the Marshalltown and Tama Women's Club. She enjoyed traveling and observing wildlife with her husband Kenneth, as well as their trips to Texas in the winter. Fran and Kenny were "parents" to special daughters and international persons.
Preceding her in death were her parents, Francis Maxwell and L. Rosetta Maxwell Patterson; and a brother, Ronald A. Maxwell.
Survivors include her husband, R. Kenneth of Tama; one son, Dr. Kenneth A. Smith of Chandler, AZ; five sisters, Margaret (Ronald) Stratton of Collins, Ann Maxwell of Austin, TX, Daisy (Robert) Swanson of Nevada, Carol Lee (Carl) Hedges of Maryland, and Patricia Lundquist of Omaha, NE.
A memorial fund has been established.