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Submitted: 11/16/23 • Approved: 11/21/23 • Last Updated: 11/24/23 • R1509533-G1509531-S3
James
September 12, 1931 - March 19, 2016
Frances
March 31, 1933 - August 11, 2019
Frances Elizabeth Kidd Briggs, 86, a lifetime resident of Hot Springs, died Sunday, August 11, 2019 in Mountain Home. The second of eight children, she was born March 31, 1933 to the late Tommy and Dovie Ritter Kidd. Frances married James Ira Briggs, Sr. on June 10, 1950, and graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1951.
Frances was a mother of five, grandmother of ten and great grandmother of three. Her life was filled with service to others, in particular the youth of her community. Frances taught and directed the American Red Cross Summer Swim Program on Lake Hamilton and in the J.C. Park and YWCA pools for over 25 years, teaching vast numbers of Hot Springs children how to swim and training those who worked as lifeguards at local pools and swim areas. She was a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader at both Rix and Gardner Schools, served as a Cub Scout Den Mother, and was a Y-Teen leader at the YWCA. Frances was a skilled seamstress and dressmaker, making numerous wedding, bridesmaid, and flower girl dresses for family and friends, often creating one-of-a-kind gowns without a pattern.
Frances retired from the Hot Springs School District after almost 30 years as the secretary and bookkeeper at Gardner School. She was known for her remarkable ability to remember details about each student when she encountered them years later as adults. After retiring, Frances dedicated her life to advocating for and providing care to her husband of over 65 years, James, through his long battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Frances was preceded in death by her parents, Tommy Kidd and Dovie Kidd Vandevier; her brother, Tommy Kidd, Jr.; her sisters, Helen Mosley and June Fikes; her son, Dr. Thomas Berry Briggs, and her husband, James Ira Briggs, Sr. She is survived by her sisters, Alta Sue Patton (Wheatie, deceased) and Betty Maxwell (Tom); brothers, John Kidd (Susan) and Jimmie Ray Kidd; her brothers-in-law Terry Mosley and Bob Fikes, and her sister-in-law Mary Briggs; her son, James I Briggs, Jr (Robin), daughter Nanette Woodsome (Tim), daughter Janniece Arnold (Dallas), son John Briggs (Herb, deceased) and daughter-in-law Cheryl Briggs (widow of Thomas); ten grandchildren, Samantha Woodsome Pantenburg (Brett), Tyler Woodsome, J Ira Briggs III, Melissa Briggs, Nyssa Briggs MacManus (Tarquin), Sarah Arnold Laird, Amy Briggs, Jenna Briggs, Ashley Arnold Guberina (Neven), and Rachel Arnold; and great-grandchildren Caitlynn Pantenburg, Emma Pantenburg, and Nolan Woodsome.
Services will be graveside at a later date.
Contributed on 11/16/23 by debbraszymanski
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Record #: 1509533