July 24, 1936 – September 11, 2020
Frances McKinnon Wortham died September 11, 2020, at home in Pacific Grove, California. She was born on July 24, 1936, in Hamilton, Scotland, to Frank and Mary “Pat” McCaulay. Frances’s father traveled abroad for work, coming home with tales of faraway places that inspired Frances from a young age to see the world. After finishing school in Hamilton, Frances trained to be a nurse and, ultimately, worked as a nurse-midwife in Lanarkshire, Scotland, St. Thomas’s Hospital in London, and at one of the NATO hospitals in Paris, France.
Drawn to America, Frances moved to New York City in 1965. There she worked at St. Luke’s Hospital, among others, as a labor and delivery nurse. In October 1971, Frances met Thomas Robert Wortham, Jr., a submarine officer in the US Navy, who changed the course of her life. Frances and Thomas married on July 21, 1972, and soon started a family after moving to California, settling in Pacific Grove in 1977.
Now with two children, Frances returned to nursing and also to school. In 1987 she realized her goal of completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy when she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Kresge College at University of California, Santa Cruz. Her education continued as she became a licensed nurse practitioner working both in private practices and, ultimately, at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, where she served communities in Monterey, Salinas, Greenfield, and Castroville.
After a lifetime of service in reproductive health, Frances was proud to have established and managed the prenatal and postnatal care provided at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. There she created a strong relationship between Natividad Hospital in Salinas and the surrounding clinics, providing full spectrum services for expecting mothers. A passionate advocate for reproductive health and freedom, Frances felt strongly that all people, regardless of income, deserve access to quality care. After 60 years of service as a nurse, nurse-midwife, and nurse practitioner, Frances retired on October 31, 2014.
In retirement, between traveling with her husband on cruises and tours to St. Petersburg and Morocco, she worked as a volunteer with people experiencing homelessness through the I-HELP program of Monterey County and also volunteered as a deacon at the First Presbyterian Church of Monterey. Frances will be remembered not only for her work as a nurse practitioner and nurse midwife, but also for her kindness, passion for knowledge, and joy for living.
Frances is survived by her husband, Thomas Wortham; her daughter, Patty Wortham; her son, Frank Wortham; stepsons Tom and Jeff Wortham; and step-grandchildren, Hope Clark and Rose Wortham.
Memorials to Frances are suggested to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, www.weareplannedparenthood.orgor Doctors Without Borders, www.doctorswithoutborders.com.
A Memorial Service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Monterey at 1:30PM on Saturday, September 18, 2021.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.8.18