Francis, Blanche F. Shepard

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Part of Francis, Blanche F. Shepard

Title: Francis, Blanche F. Shepard
extracted text: REV. MRS. BLL'lCHE

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SJ~A:NCIS,

76, rehred member of ohe Detrort--cQnference, died July 5 in Sa ginaw County
Rehabilitation
Center
following
a
le'll.'gthy illness. :\Irs. Francis studied at
Genese e County Normal College, Chi·c ago Evangelistic Institute ami Dakota
Wesleyan Uni\·ersity. For ten years
prior to her marriage to the late Rev.
William I. Francis she did evarugelistic
work throughout the United States. In
1940 she was the first woman to be OTdained in The :\iethodist Church following the 1939 merger of the Methodist
Protestant and ::\Iethodist Episcopal denominations. . She served the LaPortE
Methodist church for s·ix years before
.going to Saginaw as pastor of the former Stevens Street Church, now the State
Street l\1ethodist Church. F'rom 1944-48
she taught at Chicago Evangelisti~ Institute and in 1948 returned to Sa·ginaw
as associate minister of the Ames
Methodist Church from which she retired in 1957. Her husband preceded her
in death in 1958. Survivors include two
daughters, M·i ss Faith Francis, Saginaw, and Mrs. Matthew O'Meara, Sanford; and a son, Rev. John L. Francis,
pastor of First United Methodist
Church, Hillsdale. Funeral services, held
July 8 in the Ames Church, were conducted by Rev. Ri·chard Lobb and Major
Raymond Ca~meron . Methodist ministe'l"S,
close friends of the family, served as
pallbearers including Rev. Charles A.
Jacobs, Rev. Martin G. Seitz, Rev. Benjamin C. Whaley, Rev. Glenn A. Atchinson, Rev. John W. Simpson and Rev.
Warren D. Pettis. Burial was in Byron.

Blanche Francis Retires
LAN CHE Shepard (Mrs . William I.)
Francis, who has been assistant pastor at Saginaw Ames the last t\vo years,
retired at the Detroit Annual Conference. She began her car eer 44 years ago
by assisting in evangelistic services, the
first series being with Rev. Royce Millard at Lakeville, Michigan. Following grad uation from the Chicago Evangelistic Institute in 1914, she spent ten
years in fu ll-time evangelism in Michiga n, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Indiana a nd Edmonton, Albert a, taking
some additional work at Da kota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, S.D.

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On June 23, 1924, she married Rev.
William I. Francis, who was then pastor
at Lakeview Church, Flint. During the
years t hat fo llowed her ministry was
full and varied, being pastor's wife,
mother, general helper, evangelist and
for fourteen years f ull-time pastor. She
was the first woman to ask to take the
Conference Course of the church, even
before women were g ranted any ordination whatever. Pas tora tes she has served
are : Ortonville and Oakwood, Port Sanilac and Forrester, Laporte, and Stephens
Street, Sag inaw, before going to Ames.
Mrs. Franci s always had a special interest in yo ung people and there a r e at
least twenty-five pastors and missionaries in full -time service who h ave been
brought to Christ through her direct
ministry.
Mr. a nd Mrs. Francis are the parents
of three children; Faith, serving her
sixth year as a missionary on the Mexican Bord.er; John, pastor of the Methodist church at Ithaca ; and Gloria Ann,
(Mrs. Matthew O'Mear a) of Sanford,
They will make their hom e a t 2288 Wilson St., Saginaw, and Mrs. Francis will
be available as a supply pastor.
MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE

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