Frances Scripps Conley

Frances Scripps Conley (January 21, 1938 - April 10, 2026) was the cherished wife of Steve, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend to so many. Fran was born in Davenport, Iowa, the eldest of three siblings (including Gail and Jack) to John and Day Waterman Scripps.

She spent most of her childhood in Denver, Colorado where she was Student Body President of Kent School for Girls and went on to graduate from Stanford University in 1960, the year her first child, Chip, was born. Two sisters, Cathy and Anne, came soon afterward. Her three children went on to have six kids so Fran was a grandmother six times over. She loved her family dearly.

Fran spent most of her 67 years of married life in the volunteer world serving on the board of the Junior League of Long Beach three times and the boards of Miller Children’s hospital, Long Beach Day Nursery, the Library Foundation, and the Ronald McDonald House at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. Fran was also a substitute teacher in the Long Beach School District and worked on the 1990 Census. As a parent, Fran attended hundreds of her kids' sporting events, was the leader of her daughter's Camp Fire Girl troop, hosted their kids' friends at their Lake Arrowhead cabin, and was almost a second mom to her children's friends, who spent hours hanging out at the family's backyard pool.

She was also an entrepreneur, turning her long-time love of needlepoint into a venture with a group of women, Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. She also created Kentucky Derby Day with Steve, entertaining hundreds of friends at this annual fun-loving shindig. Fran and Steve loved traveling and cruising, theater, Mexican Train, and socializing at the Forum in Cupertino, where they've lived for the past fifteen years.

While she always did her best to make people feel comfortable, in her later years, she became even more strong-willed and outspoken in her belief in social justice. And, while she struggled with her incurable illness - Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) - far more years than her doctors expected, she had a positive attitude toward life and toward advocating for change. Fran was a role model for raising a family with powerful social values and personal independence. The night sky is a little brighter with a brand new star shining in the firmament.