Frances Elizabeth Phillips

Soon after graduating high school, she married her high school sweetheart Jerry Kilgore. They lived for many years in Ogallala, Nebraska where they raised their three sons, Scott, Jeff, and Pat Kilgore. But sometimes marriages don't last. After their divorce Fran attended Doane College in Crete, Nebraska graduating Suma Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in education. This is where she met her second husband, Tim Phillips. She started her teaching career in Omaha and soon after married Tim.

Tim and Fran moved to Estes Park in 1986. Fran taught in the Estes Park school district until 2007. Over the years teaching first thru third graders. Fran was known as a creative and innovative educator. She and her good friend Kelly Brown taught history camps during the summer at MacGregor Ranch for several years. Afterwards they started their own summer camps, Creative Discoveries. Such was her love for education that she would teach during the school year and then continue helping young minds grow during the summer. Fran is also known for her extra-curricular activities like "bunking with the beasts" a program where Fran created an after-hours field trip to the Denver Zoo so kids and their parents could stay the night and observed and learn about many of the zoo's nocturnal animals.

Fran's insatiable quest for knowledge included trips to other countries such as Greece, Egypt, France, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, and Mexico. She also enjoyed multiple domestic road trips around the US with some of her girlfriends. It has been rumored that several casks of wine were drained of their delicious nectar along the way.

Fran was nominated as a Colorado teacher of the year. Fran loved to learn and continued her own self growth by obtaining her masters degree focused on teaching the gifted and talented. After retiring from teaching, she went back to school again and got her certification as a medical assistant and taught indigent and elderly individuals who had diabetes about proper care of their disease.

Fran was equally community minded. She served on the Estes Park Music Festival board, the Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies board, was a member of Eastern Star (including serving a year as part of a Grand Family), and she was a PEO (including being a charter member of chapter HZ). After moving to Loveland Fran volunteered with KidsPak and the Loveland Sculptor show as well as volunteering at several Loveland elementary schools.

She is survived by her husband Tim Phillips, her sons and their families that include nine grand-children and 11 great grand-children.