Frances Irene Wozny was born on February 8th, 1932, in Grande Prairie, Alberta, to Laurena Evelyn McRae (Twombley) and Ritchie P. McRae, Sr. She was raised on a farm northeast of Grande Prairie, and after completing Grade eight, she went to work on neighbouring farms, cooking for threshing crews.
In 1951, she met Alex Wozny; they were soon married and in 1952, a son, Ricky was born. In 1953, daughter, Valerie came along. In December of that year, tragedy struck, when little Ricky, only eighteen months old passed away. Mom and Dad never got over his sudden passing. In 1955, Gail was born, followed by Diane in 1959.
On October 31st, 1961, they all moved to Fort St. John, BC, where they rented a small home. About a year or so later, they bought a small piece of land and Alex built a house. They lived there until the home was destroyed in a fire in 1979 - luckily no one was home at the time.
In 1982, Alex passed away suddenly, leaving the family grieving.
Fran moved into town shortly thereafter.
After Alex passed away, Fran enjoyed going out to the Red Barn, and places where her and her friends could hear old time music and dance. It was at one of these dances where she met Dale Bequette. After a time, they moved to his home in Rycroft, Alberta, where they lived (with their pet goose). After Dale passed away in 2010, Mom continued living there, enjoying her time spent at the Merry Pioneers Seniors Hall. She enjoyed playing crib and other card games. She moved back to Fort St. John in 2014. In February 2016, she was admitted to the FSJ hospital, and on September 1st this year she was transferred into the Peace Villa Care Home where she passed away on December 11th, 2016. She was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Fort St. John on December 16th.
Mom enjoyed embroidering and doing word search and fill-it-in puzzles, and spending time with her daughters, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She also liked to sing and had a nice voice.
Fran is survived by her daughters, Val (Neil) Fieber, Gail, Diane (Stew) Hopkins; her brother, Ritchie (Barbara) McRae; her grandchildren, Clint (April) Hopkins, Carrie (Garrett) Dussault, Richard (Khrystal) Hopkins; great grandchildren, Brandon Hopkins, Sierra Hopkins, and Kainen Dussault, numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
She was predeceased by her beloved son, Ricky; her husband, Alex; three sisters and a brother; her significant other, Dale; and son-in-law, John Romancewicz.