Faye “Frances” Oakley Edwards

June 7, 1925 - Dec. 18, 2017

ASHLAND

On June 7, 1925, a star was born to proud parents, Jess and Florence Oakley in Moran, Texas. As a girl growing up in rural Texas, Frances was very athletic. She could compete in sports with any boy her age. Times were hard in Texas in the thirties, so the family pulled up roots and moved to Nevada where Jess worked on the Hoover Dam.

Frances graduated from Henderson, Nevada High School with the class of 1943. Francis married briefly and in 1945 a son, Stewart (Skip) was born in Phoenix, Arizona. A year later, the family moved to Ashland, Oregon. Here, Francis met the love of her life, Loren (Ed) and they married in 1948. Three years later from this union, a daughter, Charlotte, was born. In 1957, the family moved to Auburn, Washington which was to become their home until Ed retired in 1982. Frances, for the first six years, was a stay-at-home Mom, raising two youngsters, while Ed brought home the paycheck.

After retirement, Frances and Ed moved back to Ashland and remained in Southern Oregon for the rest of their lives. Frances knew how to raise a garden and she preserved fruits and vegetables to provide healthy food for the family. In her later years, Francis struggled with Alzheimer’s disease and passed away on Dec. 18, 2017. She was 92.

Preceding Frances in death were her parents, Jess and Florence Oakley; her husband Ed; her brothers, Clayton and Douglas Oakley; and her sister, Stella White. Surviving family members include son, Stewart (Skip) Edwards and daughter-in-law, Donna from Fruitland, Idaho; daughter, Charlotte Edwards from Talent, Oregon; granddaughter Heidi and her husband Scott Fletcher from Boise, Idaho; grandson William and his wife, Lily Edwards from Richmond, Virginia; great-grandchildren, Haili LeeAnn Fletcher attending college in New York City; Harrison and Hayden Fletcher from Boise, Idaho; Cassidy Edwards attending college in Richmond, Virginia; Oakley Joe “The Hawk” Edwards-Lamberta and Coraldove “Midnight Train” Edwards-Lamberta from Richmond, Virginia.

A memorial service to celebrate the life of a most remarkable woman will be held in the spring at Memory Gardens Funeral Home in Medford, Oregon. A date for this Service is pending.

Let's block ads! (Why?)