Frances Wadkins Kirkman witnessed the world change immensely during her lifetime, which spanned from the Great Depression to the digital world of today. What did not change was her strength and grace as a wife, mother and grandmother. She was the engine that kept her family running.

Frances, 91, died on March 28, 2019 after a brief illness.

Frances was born in Iuka, Miss. on June 10, 1927, the fourth of five children born to Paul and Lucille Wadkins. After graduating from Corinth (Miss.) High School in 1945, she moved to Memphis, Tenn. and worked there until her marriage at age 20 to Jack Howell Kirk Kirkman, a native Floridian whom her brother had met during World War II.

Even though she never earned a college degree, Frances had a deep intellect, an endless curiosity and the wisdom that comes from a long life. She also had a sharp sense of humor even into her last days. Her wit was quick and her one-liners reminded you she never missed a beat.

After her marriage, Frances moved to Florida with her new husband, where she worked at Pittsburgh Plate Glass in Tampa. Later they moved to Miami, where she lived through a hurricane.

As her husband was promoted, she and Kirk moved to many places across the Southeast and started a family. They finally moved to Atlanta in 1961, where they lived for many years. Frances was a devoted mother. Her week began on Sunday evenings when her husband left for work. Then came the all-encompassing chaos of raising three children, capped with her husbands return on Friday.

Frances taught herself to like sports as a way to spend time with her son. She managed the familys budget and learned how to invest smartly in the stock market. She followed politics and current events closely, reading the news daily and keeping her mind sharp with the crossword puzzle. In her free time, Frances was immensely creative. She sewed stylish clothing for herself and her family and remembered how to knit and crochet from a long-ago childhood. She kept meticulous files of recipes that have been passed down through her family. She was a voracious reader.

When Kirk retired, she returned with him to his childhood home in Florida, where they lived on his familys orange grove. She planted flowers that reminded her of her mothers yard. In retirement, Frances and Kirk traveled the world. Once they flew to Cuba in a two engine prop plane. They also visited Hawaii, Alaska, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and the US National Parks.

She continued to be a devoted wife to Kirk, and cared for him as he developed Alzheimer's disease.

As she grew older, Frances relished her role as a grandmother, deeply interested in the lives of her grandchildren. When they were young she played CandyLand and puzzles and Play-Doh. As they got older, she sent letters and cards to their ever-evolving addresses as they studied, traveled, and worked across the country and abroad. She was easy to talk to, never judgmental, always interested. As her grandchildren grew, the world changed. Frances said she felt she had outlived the era of civil politics. She idealized the days of Jimmy Carter and Franklin D. Roosevelt, saying people today had become too violent and the economy now made it too tough for families to afford a middle-class life like her own.

Often modest, Frances downplayed her role in life as nothing more than a self-taught homemaker. She leaves behind a strong, intelligent family that proves her wrong.

Frances was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Howell Kirkman, her parents Paul and Lucille Wadkins, her sister Aileen Wadkins Pegues, her brother Paul Wadkins, Jr., her brother Raymond Wadkins and her brother William Bill Wadkins. She is survived by her children Jill Krantz and husband Brad of Tampa FL; Linda Butler and husband Mack of Cumming, GA; Jack Kirkman Jr. of August, GA, and grandchildren Laura, William and Mary Frances Krantz, Gavin Butler, Caiti Kirkman, Ben Kirkman and wife Kristen, and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on April 4, 2019, from 5:00 7:00 pm at Hodges Family Funeral Home, 11441 US Highway 301, Dade City, FL. A private family funeral will be held on April 5, 2019 at Mt. Zion Cemetery in Dade City, FL.

Flowers are welcome and appreciated. If you prefer to make a donation, donations may be made in Frances memory to the American Stroke Association/American Heart Association; 10 Glenlake Parkway, NE South Tower; Suite 400; Atlanta, GA 30328, or you can donate online at www.heart.org.

Hodges Family Funeral Home & Cremation Center

Mt Zion Cemetery