Margaret Carol Francois' Obituary
My mother, Margaret Francois, was an extraordinary woman. Born during the Great Depression, she grew up during the time of World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Cold War. She saw so many advancements and achievements, big and small, during her lifetime: the parking meter, the ballpoint pen, color television, helicopters, Silly Putty, the atomic bomb, microwave ovens, computers, the personal computer, smartphones, the list goes on! She lived during the time that the Hoover Dam was built, Pearl Harbor was bombed, man went to space and landed on the moon, the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, and the attack on the World Trade Center. She saw women gain rights that in her youth were probably thought unreachable; opening a bank account, buying a car, and buying a house without the permission of a man. Although I don’t think she ever thought that she needed permission from a man (or anyone else for that matter) to do anything she set her mind to! I can’t tell you how many times, when I complained to her about someone being mean to me, her response would be “just kick them in the teeth!”
She was born in Enid and lived in Oklahoma until her early teen-age years. She moved to Nebraska and lived with an aunt and uncle until she finished high school. Although she graduated Salutatorian of her high school class, she turned down the associated college scholarship to go to secretarial school. She became the secretary to the General in charge of the Strategic Air Command in Omaha, Nebraska, where she met and married my father. She followed him though his many transfers while in the Air Force, raising seven children along the way. When my dad retired from the Air Force they settled in Hammond, LA. From being a stay-at-home mom, Mom got a job working in the cafeteria of the Catholic school I and most of my siblings attended. Then she went to the local vocational school and trained in accounting and went to work for J.C. Penney as an accountant. She decided she did not want to do that the rest of her life, so at 50 she took the ACT and finally went to collage! She completed her Associate’s Degree in Applied Science and became a respiratory therapist. After 20 years of work in that profession she retired and moved back to her roots in Oklahoma to be near her young grandchildren.
Through all of that she was a woman of great faith and held on to her Catholic upbringing her entire life. She was welcomed by the parish of St. Pius X in Tulsa and attended mass there almost every day, especially the children’s mass days! Her final days were ruled by dementia but that suffering is over and I know that she is in a happier place now with my father and sister. She will be missed by everyone whose life she touched.
Margaret married Darrell Francois on February 27, 1955 and they remained married for 37 years until his death on October 28, 1992. Margaret is preceded in death by her parents, her brother John Hassman, and her daughter Michelle Francois. She is survived by her children David Francois (Cory) of Plano, TX, Monique Francois of Tulsa, OK, Anton Francois (Solange) of Lafayette, LA, Aimee Francois (Joseph Schnetzer) of Tulsa, OK, Alan Francois (Susan) of Hammond, LA, and Remy Francois (Amy) of Tulsa, OK. She is also survived by her grandchildren Shawn Francois (Lesia), Kimberly Francois, Lisa Francois (Rusty) Duplechian, Zachary Schnetzer (Bo Flanders), Alexander (Brennah) Schnetzer, Emma Francois, and Chance Francois as well as great-grandchildren Christopher Francois, Shawn Francois, Madalyn Francois, Zachariah Francois, Amie Francois, Josephine (Josie) Francois, Izabella Francois, and Tristan Gore.
Webcasting of the Rosary ceremony will be webcast at the following link: https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/110858/hash:3FE571B2AA91F1FB
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