Frances West

January 25, 1923 – September 10, 2011

Frances “Chris” West, 88, passed away on September 10, 2011, after a brief bout with pneumonia. She was born Frances Christine Hayes on January 25, 1923, in Hamlin, Texas to Eula and Lamar Hayes. She spent most of her youth in La Junta, CO and after graduation from high school briefly pursued a carrier in art. On June 10, 1943, she married Lt. Lyle “Dusty” West at the La Junta Air Base where he was in training to be a bomber pilot.

Chris lived in Colorado Springs since 1962. She was a military wife, a stay-at-home mother for her three sons, and part of the “greatest generation.” She and Dusty enjoyed traveling and living on their property.

She was preceded in death by her husband Dusty (1988). She is survived by three sons Michael (Susan) West of Castle Rock, CO; William (Willa) West of Idaho Falls, ID; Robert (Kay) West of Colorado Springs. She is also survived by grandchildren Kirsten, Courtney, Andrew West; Emily (Kurt) Krohmer; Jillian (Nathan) Hager; and great-grandchildren Patrick Hager and Grace Krohmer.

An inurnment service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in June of 2012. No local services will be held. Tributes to Chris may be recorded at http://www.memorialgardensfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Chris’s name to the National World War II Museum of New Orleans or the Air Force Memorial Foundation (information available on the internet).