Frances J. Yarbrough

Frances J. Yarbrough (Fran) passed away on October 31, 2024 in Charlottesville, Virginia. She was 95 years old. Some say she would have chuckled at the date. Frances went to great lengths to satisfy the tastes of trick or treaters. Decades ago she created homemade treats such as popcorn balls and cookies before inviting young people into her home to select their goodie on Halloween. More recently, Frances filled decorated snack bags with a variety of candy to distribute when the doorbell rang. Frances was the first born child of Francis and William Johnston who later had three more girls, Nancy, and twins Elizabeth and Caroline. Born in Boonville, Missouri, she excelled in school and was an avid student of math. From spring till fall, the house was filled with the sounds of baseball. Several radios including one in her father’s truck outside were tuned to different games announcing each strike or crack of the bat. Her father enjoyed baseball and was a passionate fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Following in her dad’s footsteps, Frances maintained her devotion to the team. She watched every game she could and was adept at keeping track of player statistics. If you wanted to talk baseball, Frances was willing and ready. Frances married Army Captain Ben C. Yarbrough and quickly adapted to the travel and challenges that life in the military offered. The joy of her life was her son, Clark, from a previous marriage. Ben adopted Clark and was always known as Dad or Pop. The joy later was multiplied by the arrival of granddaughter, Nicole, and great-grandson, Caden. As a “Nana,” each new baby brought new reasons and ways to love. Upon Ben’s retirement from the military, the couple moved to Augusta, Georgia, to a house and a town she loved for almost 40 years. Frances became a Red Cross Volunteer at Eisenhower Medical Center at Fort Gordon (now called Fort Eisenhower). She also regularly volunteered at her church, sang in the choir, and was an active member of the adult Sunday School class. Frances freely shared her many gifts. Whether it was a handmade quilt or a crocheted tablecloth she made for her son and daughter-in-law, Angela, she was a maker and a giver. A visit to a Georgia pecan grower equated to weeks of her shelling a hundred pounds of pecans. If it was a good year, family members received ziploc bags with pecans separated as perfect halves or chopped pieces. And you could always count on a little weight gain around the Christmas holidays if you were a friend of Fran Yarbrough. Until the age of 90, weeks prior to Christmas were spent in the kitchen making homemade fruit cakes, along with dozens of cookies and candies. Recipients of a loaded sweets platter included friends, neighbors, the hairdresser, the Augusta College police force, church potlucks, and family scattered from Montana to Missouri to Pennsylvania. The favorite recipes, cut from magazines and the food sections of newspapers, are still requested and used by friends and family. Words that might describe Frances were “structured or regimented.” They served her well. Although the list was long, her Christmas cards were signed and addressed before Thanksgiving. She applied that regimen to her personal care as an avid six-days-a-week walker usually aiming for 4 miles a day well into her 80s and she continued to walk as long as she could. Because her granddaughter and grandson-in-law were personal trainers and small business owners, strength training was added when Frances moved to Charlottesville 13 years ago. Others in the gym marveled at her stamina. Following her husband’s death in 2005, Frances later decided to join the family in Virginia with a move to the Charlottesville area. She quickly became a regular at Spring Hill Baptist Church, Ruckersville, Virginia, where she volunteered for the choir, Vacation Bible School, the craft circle, and she showed up loaded with candy for Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot. Frances particularly enjoyed both the people and learning in Sunday School class. The first few minutes of every day were spent reading her Bible and praying. And her close friendships from church resulted in trips to national parks and a bucket list cruise down the Mississippi River. Perhaps the words that most describe Frances are “chocolate lover.” She never found a chocolate piece of candy, brownie or dessert she didn’t like or one that she felt she needed to share with anyone. Chocolate was king, queen and everything else. Just like a vitamin pill, chocolate was a daily requirement. This generous, giving, loving woman is missed by her family and friends. Frances, or Nana, is survived by her son, Clark Yarbrough, daughter-in-law, Angela; granddaughter, Nicole Goerge and her husband, Adam Goerge; great grandson, Caden Goerge as well as Fran’s sister, Elizabeth Dunn of Kingdom City, Missouri, and many nieces, nephews and extended family. Frances was preceded in death by her husband, Ben; parents, Francis and William Johnston, Kingdom City, Missouri; and two sisters, Nancy Jones, Columbia, Missouri, and Caroline Hanan, Sebring, Florida. A memorial service and reception will be held at Spring Hill Baptist Church on Saturday, November 16 at 1:30pm. Pastor Steve Nethery will preside. She will be interred next to her loving husband, Ben, in Augusta, Georgia, with a private family ceremony. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Tunnel to Towers (T2T) Foundation. T2T provides mortgage free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The Foundation is committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and has started building residential facilities for them. The website link is https://t2t.org/. Psalm 139:14 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”