Frances Dumas Bratt

Frances, never Fran, attended Dean Academy, in Franklin, MA and went onto Clark University, in Worcester, MA. She met her husband, Jim, through his sister, Lois, where he was attending Rutgers, after having served in WWII. After his graduation, they moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where Jim finished his studies. Frances worked at an upscale gift shop and assisted many wealthy clients. The most famous was Frank Lloyd Wright, whom the saleswomen nicknamed “Bat Man” because he always wore a black cape.

Frances and Jim went back to the East Coast to raise their family in New Jersey. She loved being a Brownie and Junior Girl Scout leader. Birds, her garden and cooking were a few of her many passions. She and Jim loved to entertain, especially bridge, until Jim kicked her under the table for a bad bid, and she never played bridge from that day forward, though they still had lots of dinners and cocktail parties.

When they moved to Virginia, it was a different world from the NorthEast they were both familiar with. Never daunted by changes, she quickly made many friends and continued to entertain and volunteered with the local Grammar school. Frances also opened an antique shop, which she ran for many years, eventually showing at antique shows, with her friend, Mrs. Abernathy. It was at an antique show in Williamsburg, VA, that she found out she was a first time grandmother.

In the 1980s, Jim started his own fertilizer company, T-Tech, which Frances quickly joined and became an important staff member. When they both felt ready to retire and travel the world, they visited five continents and made friends wherever they went. Frances, always equipped with Kleenex, was a great friend to many a woman.

On their 50th anniversary, they went to Colombia, and Jim bought her an emerald ring, in memory of her Mother’s emerald engagement ring. Theirs, in Frances’ words, was a great romance. And it was. When Jim became terminally ill, in 2005, they decided to move to the temperate climate in New Orleans, LA to be close to their youngest daughter, Sue. After restoring a house in the Garden District, they were swept up in Katrina. What a joy that was. They then moved to be close to their oldest daughter Lee and enjoy snow once again.

Frances continued to garden, watch birds and entertain. It was in Omaha she became a proud member of the Nebraska Society of Mayflower Descendants and also the Omaha Chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution.The funny thing is she always thought she was descended from Royalist lines!

Frances was preceded in death by her husband, James Wilde Bratt; and daughter, Lee Bratt Schoomaker.

She is survived by her daughter, Sue Bratt St. Amant (George Stephen Hewitt); son-in-law, Paul Andrew Schoomaker; grandchildren, James Bratt (Julie) Schoomaker, Carrie Schoomaker (John) Dolton, Sara Schoomaker (Sean) Kelly, Guy Turner St. Amant, Frances Laville St. Amant; great-grandchildren, Isabel Katherine Schoomaker, Brad Wilde Schoomaker, Sophia Frances Dolton, Amelia Alice Dolton, Ethan Andrew Dolton, Louisa Mabel Dolton, Jack Paul Kelly.

VISITATION for Frances will be held Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Kahler-Dolce Mortuary, 441 N Washington St, Papillion, Nebraska 68046. MEMORIAL SERVICE to follow at 11:30 AM. INURNMENT at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorials suggested to the Audubon Society of Omaha.