Posted by The Virginian Pilot on 1/29/2008, 6:23 am
76.5.21.182
Frances Drummond Gay Stickles, who was born Aug. 25, 1925, died Jan. 22, 2008. She was a beloved and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Frances was born in Portsmouth, scion of one of the First Families of Virginia, the eldest child of Charles D. and Mary Tom Knott Gay. She was baptized at Monumental Methodist Church, Portsmouth.
She attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth.
An honors student, Frances was attending Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Va., by age 16 when she met and fell in love with a young Annapolis Midshipman, Albert L. Stickles. The couple was married in Boston at Trinity Episcopal Church on Jan. 3, 1944. The captain of the USS Nevada gave the bride away.
In October 1944, Frances gave birth to a son, Albert Louis, in Portsmouth, where she resided with her parents until VJ day. The little family began a series of moves as her husband was posted. En route to Monterey, Calif., she grave birth to Patricia who died aboard the USNS Gen. Mitchell in the Panama Canal Zone. While stationed at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, N.J., she met and socialized with some of the greatest minds of the 20th Century, including Dr. Albert Einstein. At Newport, R.I., she gave birth to Ann in the Newport Naval Hospital. Ann died before leaving the hospital.
As a commanding officer’s wife, Frances hosted many affairs for the wives of her husband’s commands, and served as an ombudsman for the families. In Europe, she traveled extensively. She was received by many noted dignitaries, including His Holiness, Pope Paul VI. Frances always displayed a flair for social etiquette and was hostess at several international affairs. Frances had a real talent for real estate. She had begun by managing her father’s beach- front hotel in Norfolk in the 1950s and in the sale of real estate in Pebble Beach, Calif. On Marco Island, Fla., she bought and sold parcels of land and at least two condos, which she managed. The couple decided to purchase land on Marco Island in 1966. Her granddaughter, Kimberley Jeanne, was born in 1978 in Fairfax, Va., and visited each summer.
After moving permanently to Marco Island in the 1970s, Frances devoted her time to MICA, the St. Mark’s Altar Guild, The Women’s Club and the DAR. She also enjoyed weekly coffee klatches with friends. Frances was also a keen student of genealogy being a descendant of Pocahontas, Washington and "Light-horse" Harry Lee, father of Robert E. Lee. Her genealogy is traced in First Families of Virginia. Unfortunately, a series of injuries bedeviled her. On a cruise through China in the late 80s, she suffered a broken neck; earlier, she had suffered a broken back; on a cruise to Cancun, she fell, breaking her elbow and her hip. In 2006, she became a great-grandmother. Plagued by several hip joint operations, Frances was increasingly bed-ridden and spent increasingly more time in the hospital. Frances also suffered from COPD, could not walk, after repeated falls, and was often rushed to the hospital, where she last succumbed, following renal failure on Jan. 22, 2008. Frances, named after her great-grandmother, Frances A. Cain, leaves behind her a brother, William Gay of Midlothian; her husband, Capt. A. L. Stickles II of Marco Island, Fla.; a son, A.L. Stickles III of Marco Island; a granddaughter, Kimberley J. Stickles of Virginia Beach; and a great-grandson, Brendan C.A. Stickles of Virginia Beach. A memorial service was held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Marco Island, at 2 p.m. Jan. 26 and interment will be in the family plot in Olive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth, at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Love never dies; yours will always remain with us. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1101 N. Collier Blvd., Marco Island, FL 34145. Hodges Josberger Funeral Home, "Marco Island’s Only Funeral Home," is in charge. (239)394-7573.
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