STRONG, Frances E. (Banks)

Frances Elizabeth Banks Strong, age 97, of Kent, passed away at Stow-Glen Retirement Village March 7, 2008. She was born April 18, 1910 in Hobart, Oklahoma, the youngest of the ten children of Douglas Trent and Roberta Lovelace Banks. She attended Oklahoma College for Women and married Marion Ray (Red) Strong on September 30, 1930 in Weatherford, Oklahoma. She and her husband were teachers and farmers in the early years of their marriage. Eventually they moved to Oklahoma City, Wheaton, Illinois, and then to Amarillo, Texas, when her husband worked in the insurance business. When their health began to fail, they moved to Kent, Ohio to be near the two daughters who lived in Kent. When Frances's husband died in 1994, she moved into Stow-Glen Retirement Village, where she was very happy and appreciated for her wonderful disposition. She played the piano for the church services there as long as she was able. Her husband, M. R. Strong and two daughters, Marian Frances Elizabeth Strong and Nancy Ann Strong Smith, preceded her in death, as well as seven sisters and two brothers. She is survived by a son-in-law, Bobby Smith; a son, James Ray Strong (Trishia); two daughters, Sue Strong Hassler (Donald Mackey) and Dorothy Strong Denny (David); nieces and nephews; 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. In addition to her family, her great love in life was her music. She was an accomplished singer and played the piano and organ as well. She passed this love of music and the love of reading on to her children and grandchildren, as well as her love of babies and animals. She was a devoted Methodist all her life, and was a Junior Choir Director at St. Paul Methodist Church in Amarillo, Texas. She was primarily a homemaker, but would occasionally work out of the home as a church secretary or school secretary when her children were in college and the extra money was needed. Memorial services will be held 11:00 A.M. Thursday, March 13th at the Wesley Chapel of the Kent United Methodist Church with the Rev. Dr. David Palmer officiating. Her ashes will be mingled with those of her husband's and taken to the cemetery in Hobart, Oklahoma where her infant daughter, Elizabeth, is buried.