Frances Rolie

Visitation: from 9:00 a.m. to12:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2003 at the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home Chapel

Funeral Services: 2:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2003 at the First Baptist Church of Gillette, Wy

Interment: will follow at Gillettes Mt. Pisgah Cemetery

Funeral Services for Frances Rolie of Gillette, Wyoming will be at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2003 at the First Baptist Church of Gillette, Wyoming with Pastor Mark Jervis officiating. Interment will follow at Gillettes Mt. Pisgah Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. to12:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2003 at the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home Chapel.

Frances Rolie, age 92, died on Thursday, December 4, 2003 at the Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette, Wyoming of natural causes.

Frances E. Rolie was born on April 24, 1911 to Frank and Rebecca (Mille) Zohner in Center, North Dakota. When she was three weeks old, her family moved to Amidon, North Dakota and to Britton, South Dakota when she was six years old. Frances grew in a family that didn't have much money but they were blessed in the ways that truly mattered, a happy home, which gave her an appreciation for the intangibles in her life. She received her education in Britton and graduated from high school in 1929. In 1930, she attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, South Dakota for one and a half years and received her teaching certificate. Frances acquired her first teaching position 60 miles from her home, in a Russian district where her responsibility would have been to teach the children to speak and write in English. She declined to take the position after deciding that teaching was not the occupation for her and she began searching elsewhere for employment.

She soon found a position working at J.C. Penney in Aberdeen, South Dakota where she was paid twelve dollars per week. This is where she met her future husband, Murph. They were married on October 13, 1935, in Hoven, South Dakota and moved to Mobridge, South Dakota. In 1936, the couple moved back to Aberdeen, South Dakota. They moved again to Billings, Montana and in 1940, when Murph accepted a transfer to Gillette, Wyoming, they put their roaming shoes to rest and made a permanent home. Frances worked for the clothing store, Vaughn Ragsdales, for twenty-five years and Anthonys for twenty-four years, retiring in 1986. In 1951, Frances had the exciting opportunity to go New York City on a three-week buying trip for Vaughn Ragsdales. In 1980, she became a widow when Murph died. As retirement was not a word in Frances vocabulary, she continued to remain actively involved in her community through volunteer work. She received recognition for her work with several awards. In 1994, she was named Volunteer of the year; in 1996, she was named Senior Center Volunteer of the Year and in 1997, she received the Elsie Freeman Volunteer of the Year award. Frances gave to our community through the gift of her time, hard work and caring heart. Her contributions cannot be measured but her efforts will be remembered by all that had the pleasure of knowing her. She had a smile for everyone she met. She had an amazing memory for dates and a wealth of knowledge and stories to share. When she was not volunteering, she enjoyed crocheting and created over three hundred and fifty afghans during the past twenty years. She also enjoyed embroidering, reading, doing crossword puzzles and walking on her treadmill. Frances was a member of various organizations. She was a fifty-eight year member of the Eastern Star Gentian, Chapter number twenty-three and a fifty-year member of the Daughters of the Nile, Shadida Temple number eighty-six, a member of the Sapphira Club number four, a member of the First Baptist Church and a past member of P.E.O.

Frances is survived by her cousins, nephews, nieces and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Murph and one sister, Mercelia Miller.

A memorial has been established to benefit the Campbell County Senior Citizens Center. Donations may be sent in care of the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral home at 210 W. 5th St., Gillette, Wyoming 82716. Condolences may be sent in care of Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home or via the internet at stevensonandsons.com.