Frances Irene (Smith) Arnold, 86, of Anderson, Missouri, formerly of Wichita, Kansas and Terral, Oklahoma, peacefully departed this life in her sleep early in the morning of Friday, October 23 at the Golden Living Center in Anderson, Missouri, due to natural causes.
Frances was born July 12, 1929, with a twin brother Jimmie, in Terral, Oklahoma, to the late Napoleon Bonaparte “N.B.” Smith and the late Anna (Hodges) Smith. She was raised in Terral and spent her teenage years in San Diego, California, where the family moved during World War II. She had a lifetime love of horses, and worked as a horse trainer and groomer at a race track in San Diego. She later returned to Terral, Oklahoma, where she met Rollie Andrew Arnold Jr., a truck driver, of Wichita, Kansas. They were married in June of 1950, in Terral, and made their home in Wichita.
Frances was a homemaker and, briefly, a nurse's aide and a clerk at David's department store in Wichita. She enjoyed being with her family in Wichita and Terral. She was proud of her Cherokee and Choctaw heritage, and enjoyed all things western, including music, clothing, cowboy history and culture. She and Rollie purchased a small farm near Nevada, Missouri, where they planned to retire, and spent as much of their free time as possible on the farm making improvements and enjoying the countryside with their youngest son Bruce and her mother Anna. They sold the farm and moved to Winfield, Kansas, when Rollie was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he passed away soon thereafter. Frances and Bruce continued to live in Winfield, before returning to Wichita to live near her other son Kenneth. Frances and Bruce moved to Noel, Missouri, in the early 1990s and later in that decade Frances lived in Bella Vista, Arkansas, with her sister Charlotte, until Charlotte's death, after which she returned to rural McDonald County, Missouri, between Anderson and Pineville.
Frances was skilled with tooling leather, mostly crafting belts, wallets, purses and other personal items, and a saddle. She enjoyed drawing and later became a talented quilt maker. She also enjoyed spending quiet time in nature.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Rollie, brothers Charles and Jimmie Smith, sister Charlotte MacArthur, and stepson Rollie Wayne Arnold. She is survived by brothers Lynn (Gwen) of Imperial Beach, California, and Robert (Mary) Smith of Wichita, sons Kenneth (Jan) of Wichita and Bruce of McDonald County, cousins and children of Peggy Thomas and Georgeanna Anderson of Terral and Phil Davis of Bowie, Texas, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Graveside Funeral Service was held Tuesday, October 27, 2015, at at Tracy Cemetery outside Anderson. Pastor Marilyn O'Brien officiated.
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