Maxine Francis

(From Daniel Funeral Home)

Martisa "Maxine" Francis, age 98, of Lamar, Missouri passed away November 13, 2023, at Moore-Few Care Center in Nevada, Missouri.

Maxine was born February 12, 1925 in Claremore, Oklahoma to Audie R Johnston and Allie Mae (Madole) Johnston, the fourth of eight children. The family moved to Lamar in 1933. Maxine graduated from Lamar High School in the class of 1943, she played the trombone in the Lamar Tigers marching band. On December 24, 1945, Maxine married Rex L Francis in Lamar, and together they had two children, Joe and Jill.

Maxine and Rex raised and showed registered Percheron Draft Horses. Maxine was active in the VFW and Eastern Star, where she became a "Worthy Matron". She drove the school bus for many years for Lamar. She loved to sew, quilt and paint. One of her extra special quilts was made of pictures of the fiddlers that performed at the Compton Ridge Fiddler Convention in Branson, Missouri. The quilt was raffled and the proceeds were given to the School of the Ozarks in Branson. She had three brothers who performed and two brothers that accompanied them.

Survivors include one daughter, Jill Ann (Marshal) Jenkins of Lamar, MO.; one daughter-in-law, Lori Francis; four grandchildren, Martisha "Tisha" (Fernando) Rames of Lamar, MO., Brian Jenkins of Germany, Lindsay (Clint) McKinnis of Webb City, Missouri, and Hannah Francis of Lamar, MO.; one great-grandchild, Jackson Lucas; and two sisters, Thelma (Roy) Lehman of Lockwood, Missouri, and Connie (Bud) Taylor of Kearney, Missouri and one sister-in-law, Lynn Johnston.

Maxine was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Rex; one son, Joe Francis and five brothers, Dean Johnston, Don Johnston, Bud Johnston, Gailand Johnston and Gary Johnston; and three sisters-in-law, Alberta Johnston, Wanda Johnston and Evelyn Johnston.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, November 20, 2023 at the First Baptist Church in Lamar, MO., with burial to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Lamar, MO.

The family will receive friends beginning at 10:00 a.m., Monday, November 20, 2023 until service time at the church.

Contributions are suggested and made payable to the American Lung Association in care of Daniel Funeral Home.

Condolences may be shared at www.dfhlamar.com