Frances E. McGee

grandmother and great grandmother, she leaves a legacy of generations to carry on her Dutch resolve, her Iowa common

sense and practicality, and her devotion to family and friends. Mem was born to Martin and Hollis Heerema

on July 12, 1922 in Leighton, Iowa, the second of four children. Her father emigrated from Holland when he was

11, and served in the American Expeditionary Force in WWI. Mem was a Mayflower descendant and Daughter

of the American Revolution. When Mem was three, her family moved to Indianola, Iowa, home of Simpson

College. She appreciated, in later years, how good it was to grow up in a small town “where everybody knew

everybody and you couldn’t get away with anything!”

She graduated from Simpson College, where she met her future husband, Bob McGee. There was a spark and

a romance, but it was interrupted by Bob’s call to service for WWII and her pursuit of a graduate degree. Mem was

accepted to the Harvard/Radcliffe Program in Business Administration, one of the first all- women classes to attend

Harvard Business School. She graduated in 1945, with a degree in Human Resources. Following graduation, she went

to work for Bank of America in Los Angeles, California, where she was employed as a personnel officer, supervising hundreds

of employees. She then went to work at the University Of Evansville, Indiana, where she served as the women’s counselor. She absolutely loved the job and “would have worked there forever”, but fate took a different turn. R e t u r n i n g home to Iowa for Christmas vacation, her college romance with Bob McGee rekindled. They were married in August, 1947, and moved to Indianola. Their oldest son, Bob, was born in October, 1948, and when he was just three months old, they moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Bob Senior earned his Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business. Their youngest son, Tom, was born in 1950, and Mem stayed home as a full-time mother and wife, and the key support behind Bob Senior’s successful 40 year banking career. The family moved to Arizona in 1956, and in 1965 Bob Senior became the founding CEO and President of Thunderbird Bank of Arizona, where he worked for the next 25 years. During that time Mem became involved in many community activities in the west valley. She was a member of the Friends of Thunderbird, a volunteer group at Thunderbird American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. In 1974, the group started the Thunderbird Balloon Classic, as a way to raise money for scholarships. She and Bob Senior worked hard to establish the ASU West campus, and were most proud of their Provost Club member #001. When Bob Senior began winding down his banking career in the early 1990’s, they travelled and enjoyed friends for a period of time. But Bob Senior suffered from various illnesses and poor health, and Mem dedicated herself to his care. He died in August, 2000. Mem went on to live a very full life, including traveling, and spending time as a mother, grandmother and great grandmother to generations of McGees. Mem is preceded in death by her husband, Bob and her brothers Harley and Mart. She is survived by her sister Joanne Boulter (Howard); son Bob (Kate) and grandsons Robert, Jack and Sam McGee; son Tom (Amy) and granddaughters Elizabeth McGee Thompson (Seth), Melissa McGee Apley and Madeline McGee; and great grandsons Gage, Hunter and Tyler Apley. We will deeply miss our Mem, but we are grateful that she is no longer suffering from the dementia that robbed her of precious memories, and that she is reunited with her Bob and brothers Harley and Mart. The family wishes to extend

deepest thanks to the Beatitudes’ Campus of Care, whose staff members exemplify the love, understanding and caring of

a true ministry. Most of all, we wish to thank the staff and professionals in the Beatitudes Advanced Memory unit, including

Hospice of the Valley nurses and volunteers, for their extraordinary efforts to care for Mem, keep her safe, and help her find

comfort and contentment, while helping us understand and accept the disease that took her from us.

Funeral arrangements are pending and will be private. In lieu of flowers the family requests

donations be made in her name to the Beatitudes Campus of Care, 1616 W. Glendale Avenue,

Phoenix, AZ 85021 (specify Advanced Memory Care Unit) or the

100 Club of Arizona, 5033 N. 19th Avenue, Suite 123, Phoenix AZ 85015.

www.almoore-grimshaw.com