Frances Arlene Jackson

Frances Arlene (Stone) Jackson (Fran), 84, entered eternal rest on May 5, 2024.

Fran was born on May 16, 1939 in Marquette, Wisconsin, to Harvey and Mary Stone; she was the sixth of Harvey’s 15 children, and the second of Mary’s 11 children.

She graduated from Slater High School in 1957 and the University of Missouri, Columbia, with a bachelor’s degree in 1960.   She earned a master’s degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, in 1990.

After retiring, Fran and John traveled extensively in the United States and world-wide, hitting all 50 states and five continents.  Their overseas travel included Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, Canada, and cruises on the Black Sea, the Mekong, the Rhine, the Danube, and other rivers.

She married John Charles Jackson in 1961.  John and Fran moved with his job to several states, ending in Colorado where they finished raising their four children on the remains of the original homestead for the area.  The household included, at various times, cats, dogs, cows, rabbits, ducks, geese, and chickens.  Fran had a quarter acre garden where she raised most of the vegetables the family consumed, and canned and preserved vegetables, fruit, and pickles.  In 1988, they made their last move, to Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Fran was a life-long student, who was always interested in acquiring new knowledge.  Whether it was chemistry, management, cooking, bee-keeping, history, the arts, or her Catholic faith, Fran was always open to expanding her horizons of knowledge.   

Fran studied cooking while living outside of San Francisco, California, and while she never worked as a chef, she was well-known for her abilities in the kitchen.  Her fruit and cream pies were famous to all who knew her, and even her everyday meals were a treat for anyone who gathered around the table.

One of her brothers once commented that, even though Fran moved often with her family as her children were growing up, she always made her house the family’s home.  One of her methods was to hang artwork on the walls, which personalized any house in which she lived.  Fran and John started collecting art when they were newly married, beginning with prints, and slowly transitioning to originals.  Their collection grew to be well known among their social circle.

Fran was devoted to family, which included anyone who needed her help at the time.  She held chemistry lessons around the dining room table for anyone who wanted to gather after school, quietly provided guidance and structure to neighborhood children, and fed and loved whoever showed up at the door.

After raising her children, Fran returned to the workforce she had left for over 20 years, proudly commuting in her bright yellow Mustang.  She retired from American Airlines in 2009, where she worked as an environmental engineer.

Fran is survived by her husband, John; one son and two daughters: J Stephen (Linda) Jackson of Aurora, Colorado, Andrea Jarrell of Mount Airy, North Carolina, and Kristen (Jeffrey) Meyers of Fairfax, Virginia; seven grandchildren: Alex (Emma) Jackson, Katrina Jackson, Joshua (Victoria) Meyers, Andrew (Allyson) Meyers, Benjamin Jackson, Wendy Jackson, and Sydney Jarrell; one great-granddaughter: Hannah Jackson; two sisters: Grace Hill and Patricia White; six brothers: Henry, Michael, Richard, Andrew, Anthony (Mort) and Bruce Stone, and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Jennifer Jackson, her sister Mary (Stone) Dillman; her brother James Stone; her half-brother John (“Junior”) Stone; and her three half-sisters:  Dorothy Hensgen, Dora Mae Bennett, and Josie Rariden.

 Frances will have funeral services on Thursday May 16, 2024 at Our Lady of the Presentation at 130 NW Murray Rd, Lee's Summit, MO 64081 visitation at 10am followed by mass at 11am.