Frances Alexander

Frances Verna Alexander, 94, a resident of the Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center, passed away there Thursday, July 26, 2001.She was born March 11, 1907, in Griswold, Iowa the youngest of three daughters of Charles M. Franklin and Ella (Carey) Chizum, where she lived with them and her next older sister, Hilda. She graduated from Griswold High School in 1924. For the last three years of high school she worked all spare time at Dick and Janie"s Kandy Kitchen. Then beginning June 14, 1926, she was the first office worker at the new Laco Oil Burner Company. She remained through the years as the business grew, and moved to a new large factory northeast of Main Street. During the war years, she did production-cost accounting for a large work force; then during the last five years of 30 years employment, she became the business bookkeeper.She was married to Gerald B. Alexander, who farmed east of Lewis, on July 22, 1956, in the Congregational Church in Atlantic. Both made a confession of faith and were baptized into the Christian Church at Crystal Lake on August 30, 1959 by May O. Proctor. After a time of Gerald's lengthy illness beginning in December 1968, and her own illness in November 1971, and six months convalescence, Verna moved to Peace Haven Retirement Home in Walnut in May 1972. She became a resident of the Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center in 1990.Surviving are one nephew, Gerald D. Fox and wife, Eleanor, of Goddard, Kansas; one niece, Maxine Hill of Farnam, Nebraska; one stepson, LaVern Alexander of rural Atlantic; four stepgrandchildren, Jan Gardner and husband, Steve, of Atlantic, Pamela Steffen and husband, Garry, of Des Moines, Debbie Anderson and LaVern Bredehoft of Stockton, California; nine great-grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; and a number of great and great-great nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Gerald; two sisters, Stella Boyle and Hilda Fox; a baby brother, Earl; stepdaughter, Patsy Fleer; sister-in-law, Esther Allen; four brothers-in-law, Clyde Fox, Heber Boyle, Denzil and John Alexander; one stepdaughter in-law, Lorraine Alexander; and one great-grandson, Ace Anderson.Funeral InformationServices for Frances were held Thursday, July 26, 2001, at 1:30 PM at the Church of Christ in Lewis, Iowa with Dave Anderson officiating.Interment was in the Oakwood Cemetery, Lewis, Iowa.