Frances had a love for Christ, family and her friends. Frances grew up in Blaine, on a farm with her 5 siblings, tending to the fields of crops, farm animals, and her grandmother and uncle in a nearby home. She went on to receive her nursing degree from St. Teresa College in Kansas City, Missouri, then practiced in Kansas City. Frances met Tom Ryan and they were married for 61 years, until his passing in 2013. They ran small businesses that included a parts delivery service, motels, a health food store, and a coffee service. Frances will be remembered for her work in the church and community. She set in a motion a group of women who affectionately called themselves ‘God’s Girls’. Her leadership in prayer drove Frances to lead parishioners statewide to the Arkansas Catholic Charismatic conference, receiving the Founder of our Faith award in 2006. She also was the driving force behind the scripture study program across multiple parishes in NW Arkansas. Frances and Tom loved the Lord so much and sought opportunities to spread his word, pray for the sick and volunteer in multiple capacities for the church.
Frances will be remembered by her family as the steady and patient hand, always supportive yet holding each of the children accountable for their actions. She loved to document her prayers, logging notebooks of prayer, memorializing the relationship she had with Christ and lifting up the children’s needs and their family’s petitions for healing. Her legacy includes motivating grandchildren to pursue passions she had, like teaching a granddaughter how to sew, a grandson how to cook, and scripture study that influenced all of them. When Frances played games with her grandchildren, she was notorious for playing the “Nana” card, made up words for Scrabble, and Bananagrams. Her patience and positivity always shone through for her grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Tom; her parents; 2 brothers, Larry and John; and 2 sisters, Rita and Doris. Frances is survived by her daughter, Kathleen (Kurt); sons, Tom (Jerri), John (Celeste), Terry, and Denis (Chrisy); one sister, Mary Newman; 21 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Frances will be laid to rest in St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery, Rogers, Arkansas.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.RollinsFuneral.com for the Ryan family.
