Frances Richardson Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Funeral Services for Frances will be held Tuesday, February 17th, at 11:00 am, at Edgemont North Stake Center, 345 East 4525 North, Provo, Utah, where a Visitation will be held prior from 10:00 am to 10:45 am. Interment in East Lawn Memorial Hills, 4800 North 650 East, Provo, Utah. Frances Mont Richardson died on February 10, 2015 in Orem, Utah. She was the fifth of six daughters of Francisco Mont and Juanita Poyo Mont who were born near Barcelona, Spain. They were married in Spain and came to the United States before their daughters were born . Frances was born March 10, 1918 in Union, New Jersey. Fran was eight when she moved with her family to Eagle Rock and nine or ten when they moved to the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. Frances graduated from Franklin High School. She worked as a seamstress before she was married in 1939 to John Naylor Richardson. She and John lived in Highland Park, El Monte, Arcadia, Covina, San Clemente, Carlsbad, Hemet and San Jacinto, California. The last ten years she lived in Provo and Orem, Utah. Fran is survived by her three children, Jacqueline F. Richardson de Gaston of Provo, David John Richardson (Christine) of Huntsville, Carol R. Reynolds (James) of Lindon, 17 grandchildren 72 great‑grandchildren and 1 great‑granddaughter, and sister Angelita Mont O’Brien of Pasadena, California. She is predeceased by her husband John Naylor Richardson, granddaughter Lisa Reynolds, sisters Juanita Freeman, Theresa Jordan, Lolita Wood and Josephine Wehmeyer. The funeral will be held Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. in the Edgemont North Stake Center located at 345 East 4525 North, Provo, Utah. A viewing will be at 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. Young Adult Years in Highland Park, California: Mother was known as being a very social and outgoing person, contrary to her extremely shy husband. She rejected going to college, having observed the financial struggles of her older sisters who all attended college. She sought and gained employment as a sewing machine operator in the Los Angeles garment district using her persistent and outgoing personality and became very proficient and fast, which was well rewarded as they were paid according to production (by the piece). It was said that the faster she talked the faster she sewed and the faster she sewed the faster she talked. Fran met the man of her dreams, John Naylor Richardson in Highland Park, California and they married after a three‑year courtship during which John sought better‑paid employment to be able to afford marriage and a family. He worked as a door‑to‑door bread salesman, having to buy the projected bread sales each day, and then eat those which were not sold. They were married on September 17, 1939 in Hollywood, California and their first child was born a little over a year later. John and Frances were sealed on August 23, 1957 in the Los Angeles temple. El Monte, California: John and Frances Richardson next bought an acre of land in El Monte, California, and built a “garage house” first planning to build a larger and bigger home on the front portion of the lot. The garage was remodeled somewhat to accommodate the family, with a bedroom and bathroom carved out of the main part of the garage and with a kitchen in the back as well as a porch along the back which was the laundry room as well as a sleeping room for the three children (two bunks on each side). The children did not mind their somewhat strange home, because their parents were very resourceful and made everything they wore and ate. The children fondly remember happy days with the chickens, ducks, rabbits, the duck pond, the trees and a one‑acre lot for fun in the sun. Dad made Christmas ornaments from scrap parts given to him at work, and Mom made pretty dresses for the girls from large flour sacks. Nothing was ever wasted, and they excelled at making their children feel rich with the things they did have. Dad had a fascination with electronics and he bought one of the first television sets so the entire neighborhood to watch such as “Time for Beanie” which included Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent” in their living room. It was while they lived in El Monte that Frances decided that she wanted religion for her children. Having rarely attended Church as a child, Frances considered going to the Catholic church, but her father did not like the Catholic church, and he had left Spain because his father had told him that his only two choices were the priesthood or the military. Frances knew that her mother‑in‑law Marion Naylor Richardson loved her church, so Frances called the missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints asking how she could join and get religion for her children. She called, and they taught her in spite of her just wanting religion for her children, and she and the children attended off and on. Arcadia, California. In spite of their enormous differences in personalities and interests, the children knew their parents loved them unconditionally, although they did not always like the things that we did. In 1949 the family moved to Arcadia, California where they lived for four years and they all attended Santa Anita Elementary School next to their back fence. That school is now a private school. Their home backed up to the school, so the children jumped the fence to get to school. It was while they were living in Arcadia, California that the family became more involved in the Mormon church and participated in one of the first “Temple Preparation” classes developed by Howard W. Hunter who was the president of the Pasadena Stake and a member of the Los Flores Ward they attended. Their daughter Jackie loved to sing and the choir director invited them to join, and whenever Jackie sang a solo, her parents came to Church with the family, so Jackie got more solos and their family became more active attendees. They had first been taken to the Las Flores ward by their cousins Annie and Whitey Nolte who lived there. The family was four houses out of the ward boundaries but fortunately they were not asked to leave that ward, because that might have been the end of their attendance. John constructed their entire house Their daughter Carol remembers the workmen that came to work there, and their daughter Jackie remembers that she got to paint the kitchen cabinets with her mother. The home was nice, built with brick and had two bedrooms, one bathroom and a den plus a breezeway between the house and the garage, which was a popular home in those days. The family enjoyed the home, but as the children grew they needed more room. Covina, California: In 1953 the family moved to Covina, which was more of a working class area, and the family fit in better than in Arcadia. John had become an electrician. Shortly after moving to Covina the chapel was seriously burned. The people in that area would have to pay approximately 20 percent of the costs of rebuilding, and they were poor in funds but rich in skills that could be used in reconstruction of the chapel. John was asked to head up the electrical work, which he did every day after work, and Fran and the children helped clean the smoke‑covered pews and other furniture. They quickly made friends through these united efforts of ward members, and thus they became very involved in the ward. John became a general Secretary of the Aaronic priesthood. Frances loved children and wanted but did not get a large family, so she happily worked many years as the a primary teacher of 3‑year olds, a nursery leader and then as the cub scout leader. An early morning seminary program was started in approximately 1956, and their youngest two children graduated from seminary. Overall the family became much more involved in Church and school and community activities, which led to their sealing in the temple on August 23, 1957. Fran did not drive, which was not uncommon those days of “women driver” jokes. Thus John did all of the transportation for the children. Fran at times wanted to drive again, but not driving gave her much more time to do other things. Fran was the only one who could cook and clean and Dad was the only one who could drive or work, so this made them a close‑knit team. It worked well for them, and neither one every wanted to trade roles, and they loved each other deeply. Frances loved flowers, and she grew them and started bringing them to Church each Sunday. The Bishop even extended her a calling to do so in the future. Fran loved music and singing, although she never had any formal training, she made sure that her children had opportunities to learn the piano and other instruments. Educational Pursuits in their Early Retirement Years: In later years Fran was dedicated to educational opportunities such as learning Spanish. Being in a family which spoke Catalan (a separate language from Spanish) she had spoken Catalan as a child and still remembered some as an adult, so she was highly motivated to learn Spanish so she could better communicate with her mother and siblings. She also took up oil and china painting, and cake decorating. Many of her children and grandchildren have shared in these talents as well as still have many items she sewed for them when she was younger. Many of her children and grandchildren have shared her interest and talents in these areas, even majoring in visual arts and sewing their own bride dresses or those of their children (Carol especially). Johnny shared none of these activities but happily drove Fran to all of them. Travel in their Later Years: As the financial means of Frances and her husband increased in their later years (mostly because of her inheritance), they spent much of their time traveling and just being together. They toured England, Scotland and Spain as well as Hawaii, Alaska, and Australia and the Southwestern United States. Dad had a cousin Andrew who lived in Canada and they visited him there several times. They also visited their children and grandchildren living in Nebraska, Massachusetts, Arizona, Utah, West Virginia and Utah throughout the years as well as their siblings living in Fresno, and Bass Lake, and Los Altos, California. Declining Years: As the years passed, John’s physical ailments increased, and Fran’s body was very strong but her mental capacity decreased. We used to joke that together they made a whole person with Dad having the mental acuity and Frances having a very strong body. They were quite a team and lived together on their own until Dad was 91 and Frances was 87 years old, and then they moved to Provo, Utah in 2005. Approximately six months after Dad died on June 26, 2006, Mom moved to Cove Point in Provo, Utah where she was involved in many fun activities and made many friends with similarly situated new friends. Later she transferred to Lake Ridge in Orem, Utah where she died at 96 years, just one month short of her 97th birthday. She was known by all for her sweetness and lack of complaining during her declining years. Her children and grandchildren and great‑grandchildren will miss her sweetness and love for all.

Frances Richardson

March 10, 1918 - February 10, 2015

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