Obituary of Frances Siemens

Frances Elaine Siemens of Scranton, KS, went home to be with her Lord Jesus Christ, May 16, 2019. She was 74.

Frances was born February 13, 1945, as Frances Elaine Clark to Mack Clark Sr and Esther A. Clark. The youngest of 10 children, Frances was not exempt from the hard work of growing up on a farm. She was out there with the rest of them, working in the fields and even driving the tractors and farm trucks.

In those brief moments away from farm work, while many girls her age would head indoors, she remained outside. In warmer months, you would most often find her on the bank of the nearest farm pond, fishing pole in hand, waiting patiently, or not-so-patiently, for that next fish to bite. When it was too cold to fish, she would trade in her fishing pole for hunting gear and head back to the fields. Her accuracy was as sharp as her wit, and the area’s squirrels, rabbits and game birds all knew to hide when Frances came in search of the family’s next meal.

She graduated from Riley County High School May 28, 1963, and quickly moved to Topeka where she began her career, working in the pediatric unit at Stormont Vail Hospital. It was there that she met a young orderly named Ron. He took an immediate liking to the young woman and decided that he might spend a bit more time in her area. Those supply closets were the best-stocked closets in the entire hospital.

In Frances he met his perfect match. Quick witted, caring, intelligent and incredibly, completely, undeniably selfless. In fact, after working up the nerve to ask her out, she stood him up on their first two dates to be at the hospital where she was needed. Despite this, the connection they discovered and fostered at the hospital became permanent on October 11, 1964, when they were married in Topeka.

Their 54 years together took them all over the state of Kansas as they progressed through their careers and built their family. Unable to have children, Frances chose to share her motherly love and care with children who needed it. She and Ron adopted two children, first Angela and then Matthew. She spent her years sharing that same quick wit, care, intelligence and selfless love with her beloved children.

That capacity for love, care and selfless service never would run dry. As her career took its turns throughout the years, from hospital aide to x-ray tech and surgery assistant, from clinic manager of Auburn Animal Clinic to an officer with the Capitol Area Police, her drive to pour herself into the lives of those around her was evident in each and every workplace she shared over the years.

Outside of work, Frances’ propensity for service continued in her church life. She was active with the youth, serving them and loving them at every turn. From cooking countless fundraiser meals at the church, to hopping in an 18-passenger van with a bunch of smelly teenagers so that she could cook their meals and clean up after them as they built a home for a family in Mexico, Frances’ love for the youth knew no limit.

A great lover of words, her husband Ron had a favorite for describing his bride: perspicacious. An adjective, it means having a keen mental perception and understanding. Put another way, it means that Frances possessed a ready insight and a thorough understanding of things, including life itself.

That keen understanding of life is what gave her the courage to end the treatments that held her back from living her life here on earth as she prepared to begin her life beyond earth. Faced with an inability to attend church or see the people she wanted to see or travel to the places she wanted to travel, she said no to the treatments that were robbing her of that freedom. Her keen understanding extended far beyond this life and this body.

Frances spent her last months doing the things she loved. She went to church, she traveled, she played cards, she loved deeply and she laughed often. She never questioned her God nor faltered in her love, care or service to others.

Frances was preceded in death by her parents as well as seven siblings: Dolly, Flora, Mary, Maxine, Wayne, Mack Jr., and Charlie. Frances is survived by her husband, Ronald Siemens, her sister Alice Shandy, her brother Robert Clark, her daughter Angela, son Matthew, eight grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and a plethora of nieces and nephews covering three generations.

More importantly, Frances is survived by a multitude of people that she positively impacted during her time on this earth. From the families in the pediatric unit so long ago to the people she comforted and helped at the animal clinic to the youth she served meals to in Mexico, to the countless people she made laugh with her wit, Frances leaves behind a ripple of love and service that won’t soon stop.

Funeral services will take place at her church home, Fellowship Bible Church in Baldwin City, KS at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 22, 2019. For those unable to attend, a time of visitation with the family will be available Tuesday evening at the church from 7-9 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family would ask that you remember Frances through a gift to Midland Care Hospice in Topeka, Gideons International or the American Cancer Society.