Obituary: Frances S. Stanford

Frances S. Stanford passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019.

She is survived by her husband, David Stanford; her daughter, Leslie Warden (George); son, Steve Stanford (Ginnie); and grandchildren, Michael (Jessica) and Conner Stanford and Lindsay and Derek Warden.

Fran was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 5, 1927, and came to Winter Garden in 1940 when her father, the Rev. Albert Stulck, became the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Winter Garden.

After graduating as class valedictorian of Lakeview High School, she attended Florida State College for Women with her best friend Trina (Stanford) Lummus, who introduced her to Dave. They married in 1952 and enjoyed 67 years of marriage.

Fran was active in the community in many ways. She loved music and began performing at the age of 5! She sang in the choir of the Baptist Church and, later, the Oakland Presbyterian Church, where she was a member until her passing. She had a beautiful voice and sang at many weddings!

She and Dave were charter members of the West Orange Country Club, where she enjoyed golf and tennis. She was also an avid bowler with the Winter Garden women’s league.

When the ladies in West Orange decided that they needed a garden club, she was very involved as a founding member of the Bloom & Grow Garden Society and loved to attend the monthly meetings and enjoyed working at the annual festival.

She also volunteered at the hospital, both the one on Dillard Street, where she ran the griddle (she would say that she was a professional cook!), and at Health Central. Her time spanned over 40 years serving the community there in many ways.

Her greatest love was working at the church, from singing in the choir to organizing the Annual Christmas Joy reception and selling poinsettias for the sanctuary at Christmas. She would stand at the rear of the church with her clipboard to make sure that everyone had the chance to “volunteer.”

She will be missed.

Her service will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Oakland Presbyterian Church with a time of gathering afterward. The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the church.