Frances Marie McGregor

When Frances Marie McGregor walked into the room, those in her company felt a palpable energy. This was just one of many qualities Frances had and how she impacted those around her. She was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if she wanted to share in all of their experiences, revel in their lives, and celebrate their discoveries. Frances was tireless and seemed to have a boundless enthusiasm that served her well throughout her life.

Growing up for Frances was like one big burst of spontaneity personified. She would join in with friends and family in just about anything. This made her life quite interesting and led to what would be a wide variety of memories. Frances first greeted the world in Ely, Nevada on July 21, 1956. When she was born, Frances weighed only one pound and could fit into a shoe box. She spent the first few days in an incubator, fighting for her life. Her parents were Mary Gentry and Don Decker (after Mary and Roy married, he legally adopted Mary's children when they were young). Frances lived in Ely, Nevada until she was five years old and her family moved to North Las Vegas. Frances had a great sense of humor and was a natural entertainer, able to keep the people around her amused with stories and tales. She especially enjoyed making her mother laugh. While some who knew Frances might have described her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that she was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities.

Frances was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, she was typically the person who tried to bring resolution and harmony. This quality, along with her quick wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of people were traits that drew the admiration of others and served Frances well in her adult life. Frances was the oldest of five children, followed by her sister Jaelynne, brother Jerry, sister April and her brother Roy. Growing up, Frances was extremely close with her siblings and loved them all dearly. Frances' mother, Mary would have to buy three identical toys for Frances, Jae and Jerry, yet they could always somehow tell which one was their own toy. Frances was also close to other family members, including her grandmother Sophie, whom she loved and respected.

Even as a young girl, Frances was able to empathize and identify with many different kinds of people. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. She was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. Her best childhood friends were from the neighborhood, including Myra, Cheryl, Diane, Linda, Patty, and Carmen, all of whom would become lifelong friends. Frances, Patty and Linda were known as "The Three Musketeers" and all had the same haircuts and looked alike. Frances was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Some of her favorite hobbies were arts and crafts, painting, and making things. Frances and Jae also had weekly accordion lessons while growing up. Playing games was always fun for Frances with some of her favorites being rollerskating, softball, and playing outside. Reading was also a pastime which she enjoyed, with her favorite childhood book being "Where the Red Fern Grows".

Frances grew up in a regular track home, but it was upgraded with Spanish tiles and room additions. The most memorable part of their home was the duck pond that their dad built after Frances and Jae went to the pet store and bought a duck without permission! Over time they ended up getting more ducks and animals, including peacocks. As a child, she developed a fondness for pets, especially mice, rabbits, dogs, cats, ducks, and birds. Frances was an animal lover and would tell stories about how her love birds would sit on her back, or how they took so long to name one of their pet cats that it became known as 'cat'! Frances was always looking for stray animals to take care of, and once came home with a cute cat, who she claimed just followed her home!

During her high school years, Frances responded enthusiastically to any new project and was normally in search of one adventure after another. She attended Rancho High School and J.D. Smith Junior High School in North Las Vegas. She was a very good student, and generally did well in her courses, especially enjoyed history class with Mr. Stanford and Father Ehler. Frances absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems using her imagination to master her assignments. However, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Frances a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything.

For Frances, her life was just about as busy outside of high school as it was inside. She learned about taking responsibility during this time of her life, and learned the value of hard work when she delivered newspapers on her bike. She also had the responsibility of taking care of her first car, a green Volkswagen Beetle.

With a talent for making friends easily, Frances was very sociable and could blend without effort into any number of different social groups. Assertive and outgoing, she was easy to know and often demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends. Frances and her siblings were close in age so they did a lot together and shared many of the same friends. The Gentry kids always loved to have friends over at their house. Frances also enjoyed going to the skating rink, but she was the only one with her own roller skates. The kids were also lucky enough to be able to bring their friends along on their family weekend getaways. Every Friday night the family would pack up their motorhome and take it to the lake to go camping. She also continued to care for pets, which included Chiquita, a Chihuahua dog. Because of the dog's name, Frances would put stickers from bananas on Chiquita's head!

During high school Frances dated Frankie, Bill (married for five years when they were young and they had two sons together), Fred Woodall and J.D. Carson.

Frances was a natural and creative parent who wanted to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For her, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in their home. Frances' skill at understanding her family members’ feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any of the various family problems or situations that might have arisen. Frances had two sons, Billy and Michael. Every single day Frances expressed how much she loved her boys. She would go above and beyond to make every birthday and holiday special. She truly enjoyed decorating their house for special occasions simply because she loved her boys so much.

Because Frances was so attuned to her family, and especially the kids, she worked hard to raise them in a nurturing environment. Their home, the only house Frances ever owned (30 years), was the corner house with a big front and backyard where Frances always had flowers growing. All the boys' friends wanted to hang out there, and for a kid, it was the place to be. In return for the energy she spent, the children often provided her with a great deal of pride and joy.

Later in life, Frances was also blessed with two granddaughters, Reagan and Madison. Her granddaughters were her entire world. Their relationships were very special and meant everything to her. Reagan and Madison were always overjoyed to see their Grandma, and she was simply magical to them!

Frances’s primary occupation was working as a homemaker, being the best mother and grandmother possible. She also worked as a ticket taker at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. She took the job at the race track so she could watch her brothery Jerry race in his stock car. Throughout her life, Frances worked as a Baccarat dealer, cage cashier, security staff, and as a ticket taker.

Frances loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, and she pursued numerous hobbies. Some of her favorite hobbies were gardening, painting, decorating her house, collecting angels and fairies, watching old movies, dancing and listening to music. She had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Frances' ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

She enjoyed many things throughout her life. When it came to food and drink as a teenager, she loved Arctic Circle french fries, and as an adult she like stuffed shells and was great at making her favorite Italian dishes. She also enjoyed reading fashion magazines. A few of Frances'' favorite movies included "Moon Struck", "Purple Rain" and romance movies of all eras. Frances also loved listening to music by Prince, The Pretenders, The Ramones, The Cure, the Cranberries and Michael Jackson. However, Frances' absolute favorite thing in life wasn't even a thing, but was in fact her granddaughters, Reagan and Madison. Beyond them, she found happiness in nature, flowers, art, and finding statues of angels and fairies.

Frances was a woman who was devoted to her Greek Orthodox faith. She was sympathetic and able to empathize with others and she used these qualities to the fullest while working tirelessly for her beliefs.

Throughout her life, Frances' home was constantly evolving. She was always fixing up her garden and every inch of her home and yard were touched by her creative talent. She always continued her love of gardening, painting and fixing up her home. She also continued to stay in touch with her old friends and, like always, made plenty of new ones. Some of her closest friends during retirement were Theana, Carmen, Chuckie & Mary, Frankie, and her best friend, Myra. Frances raised many pets during her life, including her nearly 20 year old cat, Madonna and her dogs, Scooter and Shoe, who was a black dog with white feet and a mohawk. A fond memory is when she would sing to her dog Scooter- "Scooter is a bug, Scooter is a bug, Scooter is a bug in the rug-rug-rug.".

Frances McGregor left us on May 22, 2011. She passed away at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 54 due to a heart attack due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Her diabetes contributed to that disease. She was preceded in death by her beloved Grandma Sophie. She is survived by her sons, Billy and Michael; granddaughters, Reagan and Madison; her mother, Mary; and her four siblings. Services were handled by Palm Mortuary, Eastern Chapel. The funeral service was held at St. John's Baptist Greek Orthodox. Frances was laid to rest at Palm Eastern Cemetery in Las Vegas, Nevada.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Frances. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative, and witty. For others, she was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, many others looked to her for inspiration, leadership, wisdom, and even courage. Frances Marie McGregor was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with those she loved.