Frances T. Cree

Frances Thetford Cree peacefully left this world on June 12, 2015 at the age of 93. Frances began her grand adventure on June 11, 1922. She was born in Groesbeck, Texas to Melvin and Lydia Thetford. Frances was the youngest of three sisters and also had a brother two years her junior. At the age of 13, Frances and her family moved to University Park, Texas. Frances graduated from Highland Park High School in 1939. From there she spent two years at Hockaday Junior College where she graduated cum lade in 1941 before attending University of Texas at Austin. Frances was a proud member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority at UT and graduated in 1943 with a Psychology degree. While attending the University of Texas, Frances met a charismatic man from Pampa, Texas named George B. Cree, Jr. whom she married in November, 1943 in Quartzite, Arizona. After George returned from the Pacific Theater of WWII, the couple moved to Pampa, Texas in 1946 to start their family and to truly begin their lives together. They were both active in community organizations and enjoyed raising their children in Pampa and at the Cree Ranch in Ellis County, Oklahoma. Frances lived a life to be desired. She was adventurous, fearless and always willing to share her opinion. Besides her family, Frances loved nothing more than traveling the globe. A journey she specially enjoyed was when she flew around the world on the British Concord with her sisters. She was a pilot, a decent skeet shooter, a collector of fine art, a philanthropist, loved growing orchids, and having a glass of wine while visiting with old and new friends. In 1981, Frances and George began a two year construction project on a home, nicknamed “CreeView”, located in Port Royal Harbor on the Island of Roatan, Honduras. CreeView was Frances and George’s on again off again home for the better part of 23 years. The home became a gathering place for family and friends. As was the usual, Frances held massive parties for all walks of life including Honduran dignitaries and celebrities. Frances sold CreeView after George’s death in 2000 but it was clear to all who knew her that Roatan never left her heart. In 1997, she and George moved in to their new home in Georgetown, Texas. There with George, she enjoyed playing golf and traveling with their new Sun City friends. After George’s death she met Larry Levis there and they spent many years together enjoying each other’s company and traveling as much as possible. In 2011 she moved to Dallas to be closer to family and made new friends at her new residence at C.C. Young. She never wavered in the face of adversity. She always walked to her own tune. She lived her life to the fullest and then some. These are traits she has passed to her children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. The world is somehow quieter without her. She will always be missed. Frances was preceded in death by her husband George B. Cree Jr., her brother Melvin S. Thetford Jr., and her sister Elizabeth T. Mohle. She is survived by her sister Madeline Roan of Houston; her three sons, George B. Cree III and his wife Nina of Amarillo, Richard E. Cree and his wife Anne of Dallas and Harold A. Cree and his wife Susan of Pampa. She also leaves behind 5 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and close friends Janell Peacock and Sherry Ingles. Services will be held at 4:00 on Tuesday June 16, 2015 at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home located at 7405 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX 75225. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to The Hockaday School, Schreiner University or to a charity of your choice.