Frances Ann Smith was born on September 10, 1932 and died on February 15, 2019, having lived 86 years. She was born to Mary Ann (Bynorth) and Frank Kubiak in Detroit, Michigan. She spent her early years between St.Ignace and Detroit.
Her father left her family when she was just a baby and she and her sister were raised by their mom. She spent a couple of years at the boarding school in St. Ignace that was run by nuns. Fran married Sheridan J. Smith on June 30, 1951 after graduating from high school earlier that month.
They were married only a few months before he was sent to Korea. He didn’tsee his oldest child Frances Marie, until she was 16 months old. In 1955 they had a son, Steven Michael.
Fran and Sheridan moved to the upper peninsula of Michigan in 1962. They loved the U.P. They lived a couple years in Negaunee and settled in Kingsford.
They had their youngest son Michael Blaine, here in 1969. Sheridan died suddenly in 1977, while having heart surgery and Fran was left with a seven year old son to raise by herself. She was a great mom and dedicated her life to him.
In later years she took Michael and his friends to hockey tournaments and motocross races across the UP and Wisconsin. Michael was murdered in 1991 and Fran’s heart was broken. The murder of her son changed her life forever, stealing away what could possibly been some of the happiest years of her life.
As a result of Michael’s murder, she became very active in Parents of Murdered Children, ever working to be with, and console other parents who have lost their children to murder. She was an advocate against Murder As Entertainment. She remained active, spending much time at her trailer in Manistique, where she made a number of friends.
She loved Lake Michigan. Fran ran her first half marathon in her 60’s. She and her dog Beast traveled to many different races in the UP and Wisconsin.
She later had her dog Pooh as a traveling companion! Fran had many interests including learning sign language. She became proficient in it and spent many years as a teacher’s aide in special education classrooms.
She loved the kids and was a very good advocate for them. Some of them are still in her heart. She started having vision problems around 2009.
She had cataract surgery, which failed, leaving her with a detached retina, more surgery and very poor vision. She also fell and broke her elbow, more surgery that didn’t turn out well. She was a very private person and did not share her health issues with many people.
She was a strong woman with a hard outer shell, but inside she had a heart of gold. During the last several months of her life in the nursing home, she underwent what seemed to be a wonderful softening of her heart, becoming kind and loving to all who knew her. We are forever grateful to the Lord for giving us this gift.
We are also thankful for the love and care she received from her caregivers at Manorcare. Fran was preceded in death by her parents, husband, her only sister Beverly, her brother-in-law Mario and sadly by her young son Michael Blaine. She is survived by her daughter Frances (Jon) Greenleaf and son Steve Smith (Sharon Ray), grandchildren Brian and Christopher Greenleaf and Jedidiah and Lauren Smith, Sean Davis, and sister-in-law Delores Calcaterra, niece, nephews, as well as many friends.
There will be no formal services per Fran’s request, but her family has many memories and photos, and every get together will be a celebration of her life! To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Frances Ann Smith please visit our Sympathy Store.
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