Frances Louis Kiefer

Born Frances Louise Speer on September 3, 1924, in Akron, OH, to parents William Samuel Speer and Rebecca Lena Herring, both originally of Atlanta, GA. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Dr. Seals Speer of Vivian, LA; sister, Gladys Speer of Atlanta, GA; husband, Hugh Martin Kiefer of Austin, TX; and grandsons Jordan Kiefer of Dallas, TX, and Kenny Kiefer of St. Louis, MO.

At the end of WWI, the Speer family returned to the South and settled in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Her father attended Parker Chiropractic College and, upon graduation, established a practice in Bay St. Louis.

Fran, as she was known to her many, lifelong friends, grew up in this idyllic, small beach town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She relished the outdoors and spent her days sailing, fishing, crabbing, and beachcombing. She loved to dance and became quite proficient. She also had a fondness for horses that permeates the family today. She rode the Tennessee Walking horses that her father raised, trained, and showed in equestrian events throughout Louisiana. She graduated from Bay High School in 1942, then attended Mississippi Southern University.

One day, Fran and a few of her high school girlfriends were on their way to beauty shop appointments in the salon that was part of the local barber shop. As they passed through the barber shop to get to the salon, a young man and student at St. Stanislaus Prep School for boys, located in Bay St. Louis, was getting a haircut. Fran and friends walked past the young Hugh Kiefer, and he was smitten with Fran’s natural beauty. He told the barber, cutting his hair, that one day he was going to marry that girl. He discovered her name and eventually arranged an introduction through Fran’s girlfriends. It wasn’t love at first sight on Fran’s part as she mistook his shyness for aloofness and didn’t like him at first. But Hugh persevered in winning her over, and they became high school sweethearts. They spent endless hours beneath the historic “Tarzan” oak tree on the beach dreaming about their future life together and making their plans. They ultimately made those dreams come true.

Fran became Frances Kiefer in the spring of 1944, and together she and Hugh, a young Tulane graduate engineer and Naval Officer, led a fairytale life and love affair that lasted 66 years. They traveled the world in search of adventure and found their share. Their exploits are the stuff of movies.

As doting and loving parents, they raised a family that included four boys and a girl. Fran and Hugh were blessed with 17 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Her family was her real treasure in life, and she reveled in family get-togethers. Fran was a kind, generous soul who loved unconditionally, as evidenced by her many lifelong friends with whom she made an effort to stay connected. She loved life and all that it brought to her. She was a true Southern Lady whose strength, courage, gentleness, and grace brought her much admiration from all who crossed paths with her. She will not be soon forgotten.

She is survived by her children: Gerry Kiefer of Natchitoches, LA; Dennis Kiefer of St. Albans, MO; Doug Kiefer of Deer Park, TX; Craig Kiefer of Friendswood, TX; and Carol Kiefer-Stewart of Georgetown, TX. Plus 15 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

Fran, like Hugh, chose to be cremated upon her death. The science of physics tells us that when one is cremated, the energy content of one’s earthly body is released as heat, which radiates into space and is scattered across the universe from which all existence emerged. With that in mind, a loving farewell would be…Ad Astra, Mom.