09/28/2024
Graveside services for Frances Bailey, 82, of Timpson, TX, will be held at 12:30 PM on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at Blair Cemetery in Timpson with Bro. Levi Cohorst officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the graveside from 10:30 AM until 12:00 PM at Taylor Funeral Home.
Clara Frances Bailey (Collins), known by those who love her as Frances, Mama, Memaw, or Nanny, has been made whole again and reunited with her beloved husband, Paul, in Heaven on September 26, 2024. As she joins the Lord, Frances leaves behind a legacy of Christlike generosity, unwavering faith, and an indomitable spirit.
Frances was born on Christmas Eve in 1941 to Thomas Dewitt and Virgie Ruth Collins (Thornton) in Timpson, Texas, where she lived a happy childhood until her marriage to Paul Bailey on February 10, 1961. Paul and Frances made their home in Longview, Texas, where they were blessed by two children, David and Vickie, who each held a piece of Frances’s heart until the very end. Frances enjoyed a long career with the Texas and Pacific Railway Company, where she was known and appreciated (and maybe feared) for her sharp wit and tenacious work ethic.
As much as she loved her job, she loved her church even more; Frances and Paul were fixtures at Ware Acres Baptist Church, where she worked in Sunbeams for years with some of her closest friends. When she retired, she and Paul returned to Timpson, joining Timpson Missionary Baptist Church, where she faithfully and dutifully served her community as long as her body and mind could. She was especially fond of working with the elderly and children, extending to them the same love as if they were her own kin. Frances’s impact in these spaces will resonate for years to come.
As Frances meets her parents, brother, and husband in the Lord’s embrace, she is survived, remembered, and cherished by her children, David (Deborah) Bailey and Vickie (Chris) Fontaine, as well as her grandchildren, Kristen (Nick) Netsch, Kathryn Bailey, Garrett (Jordon) Bailey, Matthew Fontaine, and Madison (Austin) Lusk, and great-grandchildren Annie & Hudson Netsch. While her earthly presence will be deeply missed, her family takes great comfort in knowing that Frances was always prepared to meet her Savior and is now free of the shackles of the body.
Special thank you to the nurses & staff at Garrison Nursing Home and Rehabilitation and Harbor Hospice for their loving care.
