Frances Devos ‘Fran’ Styles

September 1, 1927 - December 15, 2020

SAN DIEGO — Frances Martha (Devos) Styles was born on September 1, 1927 in Tucson, AZ to Francis Devos and Rena (Waits) Devos, the second of four children. After her father’s death, her mother remarried in Tucson, and the family moved to Oregon where young Frances grew up to attend Monmouth High School. She followed her older sister, Mabel (Devos) Lorincz to the University of Oregon, and thus began her lifelong fondness for ducks. One of her stepbrothers served in the United States Marine Corps and was killed on Iwo Jima during World War II. This, along with the Corps’ reputation for excellence, engendered Fran’s interest in the Marines, an interest she would eventually pursue after teaching for a time in Albany, Oregon before attending Columbia Teacher’s College in New York City, where she earned a Master’s degree in Physical Education. Having begun teaching in Springfield, MA, she then attempted to become a Marine officer; however, her eyesight did not meet the standard required. Nonetheless, her recruiter recommended she try the Reserves, and Fran was able to gain a commission in the Marine Corps Reserves. This sort of perseverance and willingness to work to achieve her goals exemplifies Fran’s character.

After finishing Officer Training at Quantico, VA in 1953, Fran was stationed at MCRD – San Diego as the Education Officer and was assigned to oversee the women’s sports programs as an additional duty. She played on and coached the Women’s Basketball team. Another young Marine Officer was assigned to be her assistant coach, Michael James Styles, and they were soon seeing each other on and off the court, before marrying on September 18, 1955 at Marine Corps Base – Quantico. An assignment for both in San Francisco, CA soon followed, and after a few years of wedded bliss and Semper Fidelis spirit, Fran was pregnant with her first son, James Robb Styles. At that time the Marines did not allow women to have children and stay in the Corps, so Fran ended her active duty in the Marines as a Captain, while beginning an even more active one at home. She had a daughter, Michelle Frances Styles, and another son, Patrick Shawn Styles, and by 1964 was busy raising three children, occasionally on her own as her husband deployed first to Okinawa followed by a second deployment to Viet Nam. In 1969, the family was back in San Diego as a final duty station. After her husband retired from the Marine Corps, he became the Public Relations Director for the City of San Diego for a few years, while Fran began to test the waters of returning to the work force. Even as she did so she continued to be actively involved in her children’s upbringing through encouraging and supporting their participation in various church, scouting, and numerous sports activities. She also ensured they were never idle during summer vacations by taking them to the Backyard Swim program, reading programs and many different summer school programs, as well as becoming active herself at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church.

Fran found full time work at Francis W. Parker School in 1974 as a Physical Education teacher at the Lower School campus in the mornings and the Upper School campus in the afternoons. She wasted no time in creating an athletics program for the girls from scratch, as Parker had no girls’ teams prior to her arrival. She soon had volleyball, basketball, and softball teams for the girls, began co-ed track and field team and cross-country teams, soon followed by soccer for both girls and boys. Fran also expanded the Junior High School athletics program by adding soccer and baseball to the existing basketball team. She became very active in professional organizations such as California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, as well as its national equivalent. She also was active in Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional organization for women educators, and served two terms as President of her local chapter.

By 1977 Fran became the school’s first Chair of the Physical Education Department, and shortly thereafter became the Athletic Director, which made her the first female athletic director for both boys and girls sports in San Diego. After retiring in 1994, Fran continued to be a regular substitute teacher, and returned year after year to assist in teaching archery with her good friend and colleague, David Glassey. Fran was inducted into the Parker Athletics Hall of Fame during the Centennial celebration of the school’s founding.

Retired, but clearly not tired, Fran became a docent at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Otay Mesa, as well as continuing to officiate in track and field events around the county. It was the convergence of these two, officiating a Senior track and field event at the OTC, that led her to begin participating in Senior Olympics and Senior track and field events herself. She spent over 20 years running sprints at 50, 100, and 200 meters, as well as long jump, high jump, and triple jump in local, state, and national Senior Olympics events. She was named 2015 Masters Track & Field Athlete of the Year by USA Track & Field, San Diego. Fran also found time to begin participating in the San Diego Women’s Basketball league at the Mission Valley YMCA. She had served on the board for the Mission Valley YMCA for several years, where she became aware of the league, and now became a member of the San Diego Splash. The Splash also went to State and National Senior Olympic Games to compete in basketball, as well as playing locally nearly every Sunday. They won numerous Gold Medals at the National Senior Olympics, and Fran would both play basketball with the Splash and participate in her track field events during the National Games.

While these activities might be enough for a mere mortal, Fran continued to be active at her church serving as a Deacon, an Usher, and an Elder, as well as the liaison between the church and Boy Scout Troop 24, which holds its meetings at the church. She also became extremely active in Girl Scouts, eventually becoming a Master Trainer. She chaired the committee which rewrote the curriculum for three of Girl Scouts’ most popular training courses: Let’s Camp, Let’s Cook and Let’s Tent. She spent an extraordinary amount of time and effort on the Girl Scouts archery program. For example, during 2012 she taught the sport to 180 Girl Scout archers and certified 35 new instructors during workshops at Girl Scout facilities in Balboa Park, Escondido, and Julian. She spent a documented 289 hours teaching, which doesn’t include the time spent preparing for the events and stocking and maintaining ranges at three locations. The archery range at Girl Scouts Headquarters in Balboa Park, which she designed, was dedicated as the Fran Styles Archery Range in 2010. She received the Girl Scouts Cool Woman award in 2005, and received both the Thanks Badge and Thanks Badge II, the highest honor an adult Girl Scout volunteer can receive. The newly created Fran Styles Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to her in November of 2020, and will be awarded on an ongoing basis to recognize “one Girl Scout volunteer each year who has given Girl Scouts San Diego above and beyond service for 25 plus adult years.”

Fran was preceded in death by her husband, Michael James Styles, her older sister, Mabel (Devos) Lorincz, and her younger sister, Mildred (Devos) Burkey. She is survived by her brother, Herb (Aileen) Devos, daughter, Michelle Styles, sons, Jay (Karen) Styles and Patrick (Caroline Connor) Styles, grandchildren, James (Allie) Styles and Danielle Styles, as well as several nieces and nephews. She will be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, and a Memorial Service will be planned for a later date.

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