Frances Barksdale Mack

Sarah Frances Barksdale Mack, 99, of Richmond passed away Sunday, April 15, 2018 surrounded by her family. A loving wife, mother and matriarch of a very large family, who loved her deeply, and will miss her greatly.

Frances was born in Leaksville North Carolina on September 19, 1918. She was born at home to Martha Jane Saunders Barksdale and John Wilson Barksdale. She was raised in the home her father built for his family with her two brothers, Edward and John Barksdale. John W. Barksdale was a Brakeman and Conductor for the Danville and Western over 45 years, starting in 1904, when he was 19 years old.

She graduated from Leaksville High School in 1935, and went to Brevard College in Brevard, NC. After receiving her Junior College Diploma in 1937, she moved to Richmond to where she attended Stuart Circle School of Nursing. She received her nurses cap in 1938 and graduated from Stuart Circle in 1940 and became a Registered Nurse at the Stuart Circle Hospital where she worked as the Operating Room Supervisor. It was while working at Stuart Circle that she met her future husband, Theodore R. Mack, a Resident Physician. They were married in Richmond, on July 1, 1943.

Besides raising three children, Frances was an avid quilter, and created many knitted, crocheted, or sewn items which she donated as a long-time member of the Sunshine Circle of The Children’s Hospital of Richmond. Frances was also an active member of the Tuckahoe Woman’s Club. She also enjoyed cooking, gardening and playing bridge. Volunteering in hospice for Retreat Hospital, she earned several 1500-hour pins for her services. Frances was a member of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church for over 50 years.

Preceded in death by her husband Dr. Theodore Mack and her daughter, Frieda Jane Mack, artist, school teacher and famed Virginia golfer, she is survived by her two sons and their wives; Charles Wilson and Kathy Mack of Richmond and George Gilbert and Kim Mack of Chesapeake, four grandchildren; Krissy, and husband Jimmy Cooke of Lexington South Carolina, Andy Mack and wife Stefany of Richmond, Shanna and husband Gregg Ferguson, and Allison Hana Mack of Norfolk; and five great grandchildren, Alex and Katie Cooke, Molly and Drew Mack, and Wade Ferguson.

The family would like to thank Taulisha Pollard and the staff at Concordia Home Health Care for the wonderful and loving care given to Frances for the last year.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 21, at 12:00 noon at the Westhampton Memorial Park, 10000 Patterson Ave, Richmond, Virginia 23238. Reception immediately following at the Hermitage Country Club, 1248 Hermitage Road, Manakin Sabot, Virginia 23103.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Children’s Hospital Foundation at 2924 Brook Road, Richmond Va. 23220 or at: https://chfrichmond.org/