Frances Montford's Obituary
Frances June Montford (“June”), 90, of Tacoma, Washington, passed away on January 24, 2020. June will be missed and is loved by many family and friends. June was born in Gooding, Idaho on June 23, 1929. She was predeceased by husband Roy Dowling Montford, parents Earl Frances and Iva Maude Prindle, half-sister Leah Luque, brother Orville “Bill” Prindle, and step-son James Kennedy. June is survived by her brother, Donald Prindle; children Karrin (Rick) Lewis of Lakewood, WA, Karleen Locklear of Selma, CA and Kevin (Cathy) Montford of Rochester, WA. She has grandchildren Christian Ortiz (Odette) (CA), Becca Lewis (Dan Roscoe) (WA), Beth Miller (Brandon) (WA), Jimmy Montford (Kali) (CA) and Allin Montford (Logan) (OR). Great-grandchildren include Emmalee, Evan, Ella, Aaron, and Ian in WA and Ciera, Chris and Carmen (CA). The grandkids affectionately referred to her as Mia or Mema.
Her family moved to Washington for work when she was 16 years old, where she attended and graduated from Renton High School. June worked at Western Union when she and Roy were first married (April 1949). She was a homemaker and caretaker of a friend’s mother in the mid-1950s in Tacoma. In Parkland they bought their first horse, and within a couple years, moved to Graham and added cows and chickens to the mix. In the mid-60s they moved to more acreage with more animals in Enumclaw. Roy worked full-time and shod horses on the side. June and the kids were responsible for daily chores with the animals. She attributed her bad knees to getting kicked by one of the horses.
A move in 1972 to Satsop involved more acreage and cattle. June and Roy drove school bus for Elma School District. They downsized to a smaller place in Spanaway with fewer animals in the early 80s. From there they moved to Selma, CA, where they lived for over 30 years. In that time June worked for and retired from the IRS. She also cared for her mother, her husband and her brother before they passed.
June sold their Selma property in 2015 and returned to Tacoma. She attended First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Selma, CA and First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Puyallup, WA until last year, when her arthritis made it tough to get up and get ready to go to church.
June sewed, knitted, crocheted and stitched on plastic canvas. The grandkids enjoyed many sweaters and hats made by their Mia/Mema. Arthritis eventually made hand-crafts difficult, but she enjoyed reading, working jigsaw puzzles and playing cards (Solitaire & Rummy). She also avidly worked on word puzzles and crosswords – she was pretty amazing with them! It’s no wonder that Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy were her favorite TV shows.
At her request, there will be no service.
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