Frances Catherine Ray had a good long life. She was born September 4, 1919, in Springfield, Ohio, and passed away on Thursday, October 15, 2020 at the age of 101, in Jackson, Michigan. Frances was the youngest child of Mary Jane and Jacob T. Kirkpatrick. Two brothers, Marshall and Earl, and a sister, Ruth were her older siblings. She married Beryl E. Ray in July of 1939 in Columbus, Ohio. After starting a family, they moved to Coldwater, Michigan in 1945, where Beryl took a job with V.D. Norman’s Sheet Metal. They had been married 54 years at the time of his death in 1994. Frances remained in their home in Coldwater until 2009, when she moved to an assisted living facility in Jackson.
All through her life, Frances loved children. She was playful and fun-loving. Often, she would sing silly songs and ditties that her Scotch/Irish father had taught her. She played board games, Bridge, Canasta, Euchre and even Charades with her children, grandchildren and friends. When at their cottage at Rose Lake, Frances would pick berries with her grandchildren, then bake pies or cobblers with them. She often cared for additional children, sometimes to earn extra income or just to give extra care.
Frances valued education, and she encouraged her children to read and study hard. As a teenager, she wanted to study English literature, but she had to drop out of high school to help her mother run a boarding house after the death of her father. Throughout her life, she enjoyed language and poetry. Frances would correct your grammar and often would quote Shakespeare.
When her children were older, she returned to school to earn her General Education Degree. Then she took courses toward an associate’s degree at Argubright Business College in Battle Creek. This earned her the job of bookkeeper and Deputy Clerk for the city of Coldwater, which was a good fit, because Frances was thrifty and valued hard work. All her children had bank accounts at an early age and held part-time jobs throughout high school.
Frances liked to garden, bake, play cards and learn new things. She always wanted to play the piano and tennis but instead passed these interests on to her children. Later in life, she enjoyed listening to classical music on her Bose radio and traveling to Canada and Germany. Before moving to Jackson, she was a long-time member of the First Baptist Church in Coldwater, where she attended bible classes and circle meetings.
Her family will always cherish her fun-loving, hard-working, thrifty, ambitious nature. She was a faithful partner and a good mother and grandmother. She enjoyed meeting people of all ages and learning about their lives.
Frances is preceded in death by her husband, Beryl and all of her siblings. She is survived by her four children: David E. Ray and wife, Barbara, of Jackson, Michigan; Rosemary Ray Pericic and husband, Bob, of Morgan Hill, California; and the twins - Ruth Ray Karpen and husband, Tim, of Boise, Idaho and Richard L. Ray of Fremont, Indiana. Frances also has three grandchildren: Kelly Chenoa Barton, Dean Jeffrey Pericic and Elaine R. Strader. Tonya Minnear Bower is a beloved granddaughter by marriage. Frances also has five great grandchildren: Lia and Dakota Barton, Kyle and Andy Pericic and Cassidy Strader.
Frances will be laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Girard, Michigan on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. The family will receive friends at Patience-Montgomery Funeral Home for visitation from 12:30 until 2:00 p.m.
The family would like to thank the staff at Vista Grande Villa and Southern Care Hospice for the loving care Frances received from them. Donations in her memory can be made to Southern Care Hospice, 1965 Boardman Road, Suite B, Jackson, MI 49202, the First Baptist Church, 102 Bishop Ave, Coldwater, MI 49036 or the charity of your choice.
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