Frances Ann (Ingold) Woody

Frances Ann Ingold was born in Olive Hill, in Carter County, Kentucky on May 22, 1945, to Ruth Alberta Cline Ingold and Charles Emmitt Ingold who preceded her in death. She was the fifth child of seven. She was preceded in death by siblings: Mary Louise Ingold Callihan, Helen Rae Ingold Thompson Ingram, Stanley Richard Ingold, Charlotte Sue Ingold, and John Stewart Ingold. She met William Ray Woody at Morehead State University, and they were wed on June 18th, 1966. Into this union were born son William Douglas Woody (Lisa K. Woody) and daughter Susan Ann Woody Dixon (David W. Dixon). She was blessed with grandchildren William Nathaniel and Ian Douglas Woody, Lane Raleigh, Chloe Raeann, Levi William Dixon, Kaeli Bowman, and Leah Youtsey. Fran’s great-grandchildren are Emerie, Lincoln, Oliver, and Baby Bowman on the way, and Benjamin Youtsey. She is also survived by her sister Alice Jean Ingold-Leethy.

Fran’s life was characterized by adventure. She grew up on a farm in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. She was a cheerleader in high school before leaving home at 17 for a cross-country bus ride to stay with her sister Helen in Phoenix, where Fran worked for Motorola. After a year in Arizona, she returned to Kentucky and attended Morehead State University, where she majored in business. Bill realized early in their marriage about his adventurous wife came when she drove their new 1967 Firebird across Nevada at 90mph in the days before speed limits. She worked multiple jobs without missing any chance to step into new activities. She worked as a secretary at Dayton Power & Light 1965-1969, until she left her job for her growing family responsibilities. Doug was born in 1970, and Susan came in 1973. She returned to work outside of the home in the 1970s, working for a dentist, and continued in the 1980s, when she worked at EIS through the transition when EIS became BARCO. She served as Office Manager, Accountant, and Lead for Human Resources, where her skills and connections with people supported the business and her co-workers until 2002. She then worked with Bill in WRW Consulting 2002-2017.

These details do not describe Fran. Her connections to people and her sense of adventure were her foundations in family, work, and her life. The ties she built with those around her were unique. At EIS, her colleagues described her as the Second Mom. At her retirement, rather than talk about her, they handed her the microphone. She walked through the room and described a personal connection with every individual in the company of almost 100 people. One co-worker said that he knew about 505 people: five that he knew and 500 that he knew through Fran. She did not ever meet a stranger, and her family knew that she could—and would—form bonds anywhere she went.

Fran seized every opportunity to try something new. She led her children into skiing, starting in Ohio and then driving a group of teenagers to Colorado for spring break. She learned to fly and kept her pilot license current from the late 1970s into the 1980s, flying a Cessna 162 Aerobat around Ohio and Kentucky. She played volleyball until rheumatoid arthritis affected her joints in 2010, and she played pickleball until the summer of 2025. On her 40th birthday she took her first hot air balloon ride, and she followed this with snorkeling, parasailing, and then, after she turned 50, hang gliding off of Mount Haleakala in Hawai’I. She rafted on the Yellowstone River in Montana in her 70s. When EIS supported a charity event at Kil-Kare Raceway, it was Fran who volunteered to race the dirt track in a stock car and, in a separate year, to drag race the family Chevy Beretta, beating her competitor’s Porche. She chaperoned high school trips to ski in the northeast and also for a neighbors’ grandchild on a trip to Italy. A family member summarized how Fran took her first of many trips to Montana. A grandchild wondered if it would be an interesting place to visit, and Fran’s response was, essentially, “get in the car.” She drove pairs of 16-year-olds to Montana twice, and then she headed across the country by herself many times, starting when she was nearly 60.

During her first solo drive west, Fran read about Pachy Burns and her Jam to Lamb in Montana where women gathered to pull lambs (birth sheep). She was driving near the town at the time, so she drove to main street (the space between the post office and the bar) and asked how to find the ranch. When the bartender warned her that they shoot people out there, she replied that this was fine and got directions. Fran then helped run Jam to Lamb for many years, bringing together women who wanted to learn and have the ranch experience. While moving sheep, Fran even volunteered to drive the F-450 crew cab longbed dually pickup through the narrow streets of downtown Seattle.

Fran connected to people wherever she was. As one person described her and her husband, “Bill can talk to anyone, and Fran does.” She had a wide range of friends and adopted family from across the U.S. and everywhere else in the world where she had traveled. She developed deep connections to people from Arizona to Montana, New York, and California as well as England and many other places. She never stopped connecting. As EMTs arrived to load her into the ambulance for what would be her final trip to a hospital, she paused, looked up at the EMT, and said “My name is Fran. What’s your name?” These are the foundations of who she is.

These are only some of the activities that defined Fran. She did not ever pause or even slow down. She invested her time in showing those around her how to connect to others and how to live without hesitation. Her love, care, and adventure will be missed by all who knew her. One of her greatest gifts is one she gave to her children. She loved them unconditionally, and they have always known this. They passed this gift to their own children who are passing it to their children today and into the future.

Family will greet guests from 4PM to 6PM on Monday, January 5, 2026 with a short memorial service following at the Tobias Funeral Home – Beavercreek Chapel at Dayton-Xenia Road and Grange Hall Road.

Graveside services will follow at a later date, at Garvin Ridge Cemetery in Carter County, Kentucky.

In lieu of flowers, guests are welcome to donate to The Foodbank Inc of Dayton in Fran’s name