Frances Jewel Byrd

Frances Jewel Byrd, age 89, of Hobart, passed away on Friday, November 30, 2018. Frances was born in Tennessee on November 4, 1929 and in her retirement years moved to Northwest Indiana to be near her son and his family. Frances enjoyed sewing and was an excellent seamstress. She made beautiful clothes for herself that were better then anything that could be purchased in a store. Frances shared her sewing with her family and made them clothing and both of her grandchildren quilts as young children to fit their beds. Frances was so gifted with sewing that she even made Barbie clothing with intricate bows and buttons that were flawless to the eye. Frances also liked to bake and if you went to her home you could be sure that she would give you a heaping plate of her latest dessert. Frances loved to make homemade bread and her family couldn't get enough of the sour dough bread she made and you could always find a bread starter in her refrigerator ready to go. As a winter hobby Frances loved to do puzzles and she would get a 500 or 1,000 piece puzzle and complete it. When her son Frank was growing up she and he and her first husband George would all work on a puzzle together. In fact, she never lost her love of puzzles and her son Frank, Daughter-in-law Becky and her grandkids and great- grandkids completed many puzzles with her on their visits. Frances always had the latest in technology. She was one of the first to have a quadrophonic stereo which was the first stereo that was close to surround sound. She especially kept up with technology for two favorite hobbies: sewing and baking and she was a mean Atari player and crushed it at Pac-Man, Frogger, and Demon Attack. She rolled Pac-Man over several times because she was so good. She played Atari enough that at one point when her grandkids were growing up they sang, "Grandma got run over by a Demon" instead of a reindeer because of Demon Attack. When she was raising her son Frank she played a lot of games with him. She used to play Finch and Rook to name a few. As she got older Frances just enjoyed being in the presence of the family she loved and she liked to watch them play games at family get togethers. Frances always remembered her family member's birthdays and her friends and wanted to do something special for them. Frances always kept a spotless home. It was not unheard of for her to even want seemingly immovable objects moved so she could clean under them and she might be caught steam cleaning the front of her refrigerator. In fact, if you peaked into her dirty laundry basket the clothes were actually folded inside. Frances was an avid reader and had a whole closet of books. She was a poet that made poems for her family and her friends that touched their hearts. She was even a part of the book of the month club, and she spent hours daily studying her Bible. Frances loved the Lord. She always went to Sunday School and would research the Bible diligently before the next Sunday to prepare. In later years she had a favorite Preacher that she got up early in the morning to watch and she kept studying her Bible. She had her own ideas and held fast to them and did not waver in her opinion. Frances was proceeded in death by her husband Robert Byrd, her mother, and her sister. She is survived by her son Frank ( Becky) Denton, her two grandchildren Bryan (Tammy) Denton and Kelly (Josh) Melvin, and 5 great- grandchildren Vincent, AJ, Seth, Lily, and Caedmon. In fulfillment of Frances' wishes, a private family memorial service will be held following cremation. Burns Funeral Home (Hobart) entrusted with arrangements. www.burnsfuneral.com.

Frances Jewel Byrd

November 4, 1929 - November 30, 2018