Frances Addie Smith

Frances A. Zimmerman Smith (Howell) was born in 1924 to Louise and Dewey Howell in KCMO. She graduated from Northeast High School in 1941 and received an AA from Park College in Art and attended several more universities, continuing her education throughout her life. After college she lived in New York long enough to miss her home in Kansas City. She returned and met a handsome Army Air Corps Pilot, Eugene Zimmerman, married and had four children. The family moved to Overland Park but she continued to work for the State of Missouri as a trainer for the MO Division of Employment and Security. She was "loaned out" to the Dept. of Labor where she delivered speeches and conducted seminars in 30 states and Canada. Frances passed away on March 29, 2016. Frances loved her family, travel, art, and was referred to as the "Shopper Extraordinaire." If something was in limited supply, Frances knew how to get it. She loved painting and was honored as "Watercolor Artist of the Month" by the Greater KC Art Assoc. She traveled through many countries in Europe, Asia, Australia, by plane, ship and trains which included the Orient Express. She attended "High Tea" in England, would get her hair done in Paris, hiked around the Acropolis in Greece, rode the gondolas in Venice, strolled the Champs Elysees, and could have given tours throughout the Louvre in Paris. Frances was part of the "Good Will Ambassadors" to Kansas City's sister city in Japan. She regularly visited her college roommate in New York where she would attend the Theater. When a major play came to Kansas City, she would say, "I saw that on Broadway." There was never a summer that Frances didn't plan an eventful vacation for the family. She wore big hats, dressed in designer clothes and ended every meal with dessert she picked up from Andre's or Russell Stover's. She always knew what was going on in the city and attended every grand opening, gallery and theater event, gala, exhibition, and managed to get tickets to exclusive events. She was happiest when she could share these occasions with members of her family. She loved spoiling her grandchildren more than anything and they cherished their time with her. Many years after the death of Eugene, she married a wonderful man, William Smith. She held leadership positions in the various organizations she belonged such as the International Personnel in Employment Security, Amer. Soc. of Trainers and Developers, Women's Political Caucus, Toastmaster's International, Lionesses, Soroptimists, PTA, Shawnee Mission School Board, National Assoc. of Female Executives, KC Chamber of Commerce, Nelson Gallery Friend of Art, Friend of Zoo, Daughters of British Empire and DAR. She was honored with the "Award of Merit" by the State of Missouri. Frances was listed in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who of Midwest, Who's Who of Intellectuals and Who's Who Personalities of America. She was preceded in death by parents, first husband, Eugene Zimmerman, current husband, Bill Smith and son, Donald. She is survived by children, Nancy Giller (husband Mike), Robert "Bob" Zimmerman (wife Annette), and Laura Scott (husband Dennis) and sister, Betty Jo Pucci of North Carolina and brother, James Howell of Florida. She will be missed dearly by many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Rusty Zimmerman (wife Erika), Janna Klinkhardt (husband Jeff), Cara Wagner (husband Joe), Holly Johnson (husband Mike), Jaden and Lilly Scott, Ken Zimmerman, Sara and Thad Scott (wife Stacey). Great grandchildren include Miranda, Jackson, Joseph, James, Emeline, Mike, Luke and Alex. In lieu of flowers, family requests donations be made to the Nelson Gallery of Art if so desired.