Frances Lorraine Pepper

Frances was born in Fannin County, Texas, on December 19, 1937, to Earl Alonzo Phillips and Willetta Allene Pike Phillips. She graduated from Wichita Falls Senior High School in 1955. On October 29 of that year, she married William Albert Pepper. They lived for a short while in Fort Worth, before moving back to Wichita Falls, where they had two girls, Carolyn Lynn and Barbara Ann. When her husband “Pepper” took a Civil Service job in Muskogee, Oklahoma, they lived eight years there, and then in Midwest City/Del City for 23 years. While being devoted to her family, she also worked on Tinker AFB for 18 years, enjoying a close proximity to Pepper, working in the same unit for some of those years, enabling mid-day picnics and shared rides to and from work. Upon retirement, they split their time between Westcliffe, Colorado, and eastern Oklahoma. In 2018, they moved to Friendswood, Texas, to be closer to a daughter.

Frances, also known as “Bunny” by family, enjoyed nature, especially the wildlife she so loved around her Colorado home. She enjoyed going on excursions around their homes in Colorado and Oklahoma, taking many pictures of the natural beauty. She loved camping and particularly enjoyed spending many vacations at the cabin near Westcliffe. Of course, the best part of those vacations was that she got to see extended family, usually her parents and at least one or more sisters, and their families. She had one brother, and five sisters, and loved them all dearly. Having been a loving and caring mother, she was also a loving grandmother and great-grandmother. She spent countless hours reading to her daughters, playing games and working puzzles with grandkids, and gazing lovingly at pictures of great-grandkids, even though she had to be reminded of their names.

Frances was preceded in death by her husband, Pepper, her parents, her brother Billy Phillips, brother-in-laws Les Caudle and Danny Yeakley, and her son-in-law Steven Puls. She is survived by her sisters, Jean Caudle, Tommie Frie and her husband Bert, Gail Yeakley, Freida Perry and her husband Larry Don, Sherry Belcher and her husband Craig, daughters Lynn Puls and Ann Wilson and her husband Mike, six grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren. She will be interred next to her husband of almost 65 years at Rosita Cemetery, near Westcliffe, Colorado. She will be dearly missed.