Loyce Lavada Reed Franks

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Tammy and Dan Rogas, Jr of Houston,

two granddaughters, Jordan Rogas of New York, New York and Madison Rogas of

Davidson, NC, her sister Edith Brittain of Lumberton and her nephew Paul Padgett of

Fred. She is predeceased by her husband, Durel Franks, her mother, Lavada Abbott

Mahan, and her identical twin sister, Joyce Lazada Reed Smith Crawford.

She was born in Ada, OK on November 6, 1925, the first of three daughters and one

Son to Lavada and Gordon Reed on her grandfather’s 20,000 acre farm, where she

happily spent the next 16 years. She spoke often of this idyllic, al-biet depression era

time as the best years of her life.

After her mother remarried in 1941 they moved to Beaumont but when war was declared on Dec 7, she returned to Oklahoma to help her grandfather with the farm as

all able bodied men had enlisted in the war effort. Loyce stayed there until 1947 when

she returned to Beaumont. In 1952 she met Durel Franks. They were married after a

whirlwind romance. Their love of hunting and fishing took them on many marvelous

adventures for the next 42 years; and their love of travel took them to all 50 states,

more than once.

Loyce was an avid gardener, tending to 3,500 azaleas as well as rose and vegetable

gardens. One of her greatest heartbreaks was losing it all in hurricanes Rita and Ike.

She loved and cared for many cats, one precious Boston Terrier, O’Fee, and all the birds

of her small world.

The family is grateful to her caregivers, especially Crisha Whitehead , Mary Davis, Judy Glenn,

Rhonda Douglas, Julie & Ronald Harris, Cindy Stark and all of their friends who have shown care and concern these past months while she was ill.

Graveside services will be at 12:00 PM on Friday, March 15, 2013 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be on Friday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Forest Lawn Funeral Home. Memorials may be made in her honor to The Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) or The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas.