Frances Ruth Kitchen's Obituary
Surrounded by love, Frances Ruth Kitchen, 86, of McCordsville, Indiana, formerly of Estero, Florida, passed away peacefully at home Wednesday, March 27, 2019.Fran was born April 7, 1932, in Munfordville, Kentucky to James Wesley and Flossie Etta (Goldsmith) Cox. Her family moved to southern Indiana when Fran was a very young girl and then north to Zionsville, Indiana when she was in the third grade. After graduating from Zionsville High School, she became a receptionist for Shell Oil Company. Later, she became a purchasing agent for Bio-Dynamics in Indianapolis where she met Leo Allen Kitchen, the man who, decades later would become her husband. Fran’s career as a purchasing agent also included employment at St. Anthony Hospital in Crown Point, Indiana and Curtis Dyna Products in Westfield, Indiana.A lifelong and devout Christian, Fran was a member of the Gulf Coast Church of Christ. Prior to that she was an active member of the McGregor Boulevard Church of Christ. Fran liked to stay busy and volunteering at the church she loved, made her happy. Fran served for the jail ministry, as a church greeter, made loaves of bread for first time visitors, and was in the ladies’ministry, and the Sunshiners. Both she and her beloved husband, Leo, even sang together and helped make beautiful gospel music as part of the McGregor Singers.Although Fran had many traditional values, those who knew her best would describe her as a woman ahead of her time. She was a sports nut who knew more about the Indiana Pacers than most Hoosiers! Her greatest pleasures in her last years included watching basketball on television or in person at her great-grandson’s games.Additionally, Fran loved to play cards, take walks, read, fish, and host parties. Fran was the posterchild of a social butterfly! Also, Fran would never turn down an opportunity to travel and took some amazing trips during her blessed life. They included: the Holy Land (twice), Europe, Alaska, and Hawaii (twice).Mrs. Kitchen is survived by her children: Treva Gunter-Mills (Norman Mills), Rhonda Hollinger (Dennis Hollinger), Linda Thomas (Kirk Thomas) and her step-daughter, Saundra Combs, as well as nine grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, numerous step-grandchildren, four nieces, and three nephews.Funeral services will be on what would have been Fran’s 87th birthday, Sunday, April 7, 2019, at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home. Friends will be received from 1:00 PM until the time of the service.In lieu of flowers, Fran requested that donations be made to the following:Season’s Hospice & Palliative Care2629 Waterfront Parkway East Dr., Ste. 375Indianapolis, IN 46214Gulf Coast Church of Christ Building Fund9550 6 Mile Cypress ParkwayFort Myers, Florida 33966
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