Frances Sears

On May 18, 2020, Emma Frances (“Fran”) King Sears passed away surrounded by family in Cedar Hills, Utah. She was 97 years old.

Fran was born on October 21, 1922, in Lenexa, Kansas, the oldest child of Stanley Darrell King and Emma Frances Oshel. Although raised during the Great Depression, Fran enjoyed a happy childhood filled with adventure as she traveled the country with her father in search of productive oil fields. Fran always loved adventure and made friends wherever she traveled!

During World War II, Fran volunteered as a nurse with the Army Nurse Corps. After the war, Fran attended the Kansas City Art Institute, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in visual arts. While at school, Fran met her future husband, Eugene Elmo Sears, and the two wed on September 20, 1947, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Fran and Elmo were married for 70 years. Together they had five sons, eleven grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. Fran and Elmo raised their family in Phoenix, Arizona, where Fran worked as an impressionist painter under the pseudonym of Jordan Clay. Her paintings and giclées have sold worldwide.

Fran is survived by four sons, Derek and Monika Sears, Jeffery King and Darlene (McGowan) Sears, Bradbury and Judith (Downing) Sears, and Timothy Eugene Sears; eleven grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Fran was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, JD King; her husband, Elmo; second-born son, Stanley Todd Sears; and beloved daughter-in-law, Tami Bragg Sears.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2020, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Anderson & Sons Mortuary (6141 West 11000 North, Highland, UT 84003), following which Fran will be laid to rest at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona (23029 Cave Creek Rd., Phoenix, AZ. 85024).

Special thanks to all of Fran’s caregivers at Treeo in Orem, Utah; Stonehenge of American Fork, Utah; and IHC Hospice Care. Her many loved ones will forever be grateful.

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