FAYETTEVILLE — Frances Lorene Reed,

age 97, of Fayetteville, Ark., peacefully passed away to Heaven in her sleep on Friday, December 29, 2023. She was born June 16, 1926, in Marble City, Okla., the youngest of seven children born to Fannie Mae Henderson and Ben Ester Tune.

Frances was a homemaker, seamstress, piemaker, and volunteer known for her generosity, creativity, and selflessness. She perfected these skills and traits as a sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.

As soon as Penn Reed got off the train that brought him home from Europe after WWII, he called Frances to let her know he was back. They married soon after in July of 1946, and she embraced his family as her own. Together they poured out their lives to provide a loving home for their children, Randy and Tammi.

As a member of First Baptist Church of Fayetteville, she taught in the nursery, first as a young mother, and again from 1983 to 1998 as a grandmother who believed “you should never let a baby cry it out.” After Penn died in 1998, she volunteered at Cooperative Emergency Outreach distributing food, and then for 20 years at the front desk of Washington Regional Medical Center. Throughout adulthood she worked at the polls for city and county elections.

She came from a generation of women who prized their role as a wife and homemaker, from cooking a full breakfast every morning to ironing every shirt or handkerchief whether you were family or a guest.

Preceding her in death were her husband, John Penn Reed, to whom she was married for 52 years; as well as her parents, Fannie and Ben Tune; brothers, Carl, Clarence, and Jesse Tune; sisters, Minnie Tune, Colleen Heckathorn, and Georgia Tune; her daughter-in-law, Laura Reed; and her great-granddaughter, Lottie Sandusky.

Frances is survived by her son, Randal Penn Reed of Fayetteville; her daughter, Tamora Reed Ledbetter and son-in-law, Gary, of Prairie Grove, Ark.; grandchildren, Christopher Penn Reed and his wife, Jenifer, of Frederick, Md., Carroll Frances Reed Altshuler and her husband, Andrew, of Darnestown, Md., Douglas Ledbetter and his wife, Judy, of Wichita, Kan., Philip Ledbetter and his wife, Kelly, of McKinney, Texas; and Margaret “Maggie” Ledbetter Sandusky and her husband, Ethan, of Bowie, Texas; as well as 10 great-grandchildren, Rose, Daniel, Reagan, Caroline, Adelaide, Cora, Jackson, Mackenzie, Henry, and Eleanor.

Jordan Putt of Bentonville, Ark., became her adopted granddaughter after Frances’ best friend, JoAnn Jordan, died in 2003.

Other survivors include

nephews, Denny Tune and Fred Springall; nieces, Pat Hill, Christy Morris, Deborah Christianson, and Deanna Springall; as well as numerous Reed and Tune cousins with whom she kept in touch much of her life through reunions, visits, cards, and prayers, including Karen Barker, Clydia Combs, Lana Turney, Lou Sharp, Joe Reed, Kathi Stayman, Becky Reed, Edna Wagy, John Watts, Jim Watts, Vicky Robertson, Richard Watts, and many dear friends from First Baptist Church of Fayetteville where she was a member for 68 years.

Frances spent her last week under the palliative care of Washington Regional Medical Center and Prairie Grove Health and Rehabilitation in coordination with Circle of Life Hospice.

Her life will be celebrated at a service of First Baptist Church of Fayetteville on Friday, January 12 at 1 p.m. with Douglas Falknor officiating. A private graveside service for the immediate family will be held later at Mount Comfort Cemetery in Fayetteville with Gary Ledbetter officiating. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Fayetteville Children’s Ministry, P.O. Box 1324, Fayetteville, Ark. 72702, or online at www.fbcfayetteville.org.

A more extensive obituary and tribute page may be found at www.mooresfuneralchapel.com