Great Is Thy Faithfulness; How Great Is Our God. That mantra followed Frances as she lived her life, humbly serving Christ and her church, with her husband, Pete, over the past 26 plus years and before that with husband Jack Rice for 40 years before his death in 1980. On Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, after 97 years and more of being wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great-great grandmother to her family in Beaumont or wherever they were, Frances went to glory. Entrepreneur, realtor, business woman, servant, mother confessor, and task master – all of these reflected a life well-lived.
Frances is survived by George “Pete” Wood; son Paul Randall “Randy” Rice and wife Debbie; granddaughter Christy Webb and husband Charles; Pete’s children, George Wood and wife Rene, Jimmy Wood and wife Sherri, and Maralee Nicol and husband Gary, and sister Shirley Dykes.
Frances was preceded in death by her husband, Jack and her first son, Michael. She looked forward to a grand homecoming to see and hold Michael, who died in childbirth in 1950. Frances was born July 25, 1922 in Beaumont, Texas to Captain Frank Scarborough and Oakia Scarborough, followed by her brothers, Frank “Bud” Scarborough Jr. and Walter Ray Scarborough Sr., and sister Virginia Russell; all preceded her in death. Her little sister, Shirley, resides in Beaumont and together with all of their children and family members, join in mourning her passing.
Frances owned The Fan Factory in Beaumont and together with Pete and her sons, Randall and Robbie, and grand-daughter Christy, operated the store successfully from 1989 to 2014. Randall’s wife, Debbie, helped at the shop and helped close the store after Robbie’s untimely death in 2014. Frances was named as outstanding vendor for the Home Builders Association of Southeast Texas in the late 90’s. This was the culmination of a lifetime of promoting women in business, including serving as the president of the Beaumont Chapter of American Business Women’s Association in the 1960’s. Working was nothing new to Frances as she worked at Bethlehem Shipyard during World War II while Jack was serving overseas.
Raising two sons, Randall and Robbie, was her lot in the 1950’s and 60’s, but she still held a full-time job in the office at Josey-Miller Feeds in Beaumont. Her sons were the pride of her life, and she never missed an opportunity to brag on them. In the 1970’s, she studied for and passed her realtor’s license exam and broker’s exam and later served as a director of the Beaumont Board of Realtors.
The twinkle in her eye arrived with the birth of Robbie’s daughter, Christy Michelle, who gifted Frances with many laughs, grandson Tanner, and granddaughters Pamela and Karlie. Together with Charles Webb, Christy’s husband, Frances was known lovingly as Mimi; she was always ready to talk and visit and would drop everything to spend time with them. In the last few months, Mimi was able to spend time visiting and holding the most recent addition to their family, great-great-grandson Cruz.
Perhaps some of her most satisfying times of serving the Lord was the Singles Ministry at Cathedral in the Pines, with the mission trips and outreach to the lost persons of our world. After leaving Cathedral, she helped begin and served at Christian Fellowship Worship Center in Beaumont.
All in all, the dash between 1922 and 2019 seems full with family, friends, fellow servants of Christ and serving her community in business and church. Family and friends are welcome at the visitation at 10:00 am on Friday, Nov. 8, at Claybar Funeral Home, 1155 N. 11th St. in Beaumont, with funeral service to follow at 11:00 am and burial afterwards at Magnolia Cemetery.