Frances Finch Foglesong

Nellie Frances Finch. Born June 11, 1924 in Henderson, NC the youngest of 3 sisters and 1 brother to John & Flora Dean Finch.

She graduated from Middleburg High School in Middleburg, NC in May of 1941. She attended Henderson Business College and earned a diploma in Commercial Business in June of 1942.

She joined the United States Coast Guard Women’s Reserve in August of 1944 during World War II and was stationed in Jacksonville, FL. She took courses in General Training, and a course for Spars Vehicle Maintenance. The was discharged as Seaman First Class in October 1945.

It was while in the service that she met and married her first husband, Bob Cowdrey who was also in the Coast Guard. They were married from June 1945 until June of 1950. After discharge from the service they moved to Bob’s home in Tulsa, OK. Their daughter, Linda, was born in Dec 1946.

Frances married Bob Foglesong in Dec 1972 in Tulsa, OK and moved to the Grand Lake area. They were active in the community in the town of Ketchum where her husband owned several businesses. Frances worked as a bookkeeper for Port Carlos Marina. When she wasn’t working, she was often with her best friend, Pauline who lived close by. They enjoyed good times, card games, Dominoes, and gossip.

Bob Foglesong passed away in Nov 1981 and as Frances (or Fran as she was affectionately known to friends) got older she moved to Jenks to be closer to family.

While in Jenks she became active with the Jenks Senior Citizens who met every Tuesday and Friday for lunch and card games or Dominoes and occasional field trips.
(Have you gathered by now that she really likes playing cards and dominoes?)
She was voted in as Treasurer of the Jenks Senior Citizens for 3-4 years until her health prevented her from being as active as she would have liked.

At home when she wasn’t cooking, she was working board puzzles on a card table and watching tv. She always had one in the works and her family tried to keep her supplied with boxes of them.

As health issues mounted, Frances entered the Glennwood Healthcare Center. She made many friends there and the Nurses and staff took good care of her.
She played Bingo often and always made sure had a drawer full of candy that she had won to give to her grandkids when they would visit. She also loved playing cards with Buddy, one of her best friends there. She tried to always know what was going on the the residents at Glennwood and the staff enjoyed her many stories. In describing Frances, the words most used were ‘Feisty’ and ‘Sassy’.

Frances loved gardening, fishing, animals and nature, and she was a great cook.

Frances is survived by her daughter, Linda and her husband John, grandsons Larry, John and his wife Anje, Josh, and great granddaughters Savannah (13), Brooklin (4), and Madison and Sydni (2). Her great granddaughters were the highlight of her life.