Life is beautiful. It’s a gift. We get to experience love and along with it, the depth of relationships; we get to know people. The more we get to know them, the more we grow to love them, and the deeper we feel for them. The greater the connection, the greater the fall when that person is no longer with us.
What an amazing gift of depth and beauty we have in this life. We were so, SO fortunate to have our mother/nanny… that she was ours… she belonged to us. She showed us what it was like to love in the grace and humility of God. She was the quintessential embodiment of a Godly woman, and a Christian leader. She was also full of life, with a wonderful sense of humor and was surprisingly as strong in her will as she was in her physical strength. She was a woman of many virtues and strengths, and she was ours.
Mary Carolyn Phillips Francis, 97, passed peacefully into Eternity with her Savior, Jesus, on May 24th, 2024 in Cocoa, FL.
Carolyn, the youngest of six children, was born in Knoxville , TN on November 4th, 1926 to Dr. Harry Siegel Phillips DDS and Estelle Lorraine Brammel Phillips. After attending Carson-Newman University, Carolyn moved to Washington D.C. where she met the love of her life, James Wesley Francis (“Jimbo” or “Jimmy”). Carolyn and Jimmy were married on November 1st, 1952 and were blessed with three wonderful children, Jayne Estelle, Jamie Sue, and J. Phillips.
Carolyn was a strong-spirited woman who didn’t let anyone or anything stand in the way of what she was determined to do. Having taught Sunday School to children ages seven to nine for over 60 years of her life, Carolyn was passionate about her relationship with Jesus Christ and instilling that knowledge into others. Carolyn was also a doating mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, who always had the home everyone wanted to visit, where time stood still and everyone could relax and enjoy each other’s company. Carolyn had a bright and easy-going sense of humor as well as a knack for keeping in contact with everyone, as evidenced by innumerable childhood friends that she would maintain for a lifetime.
Carolyn is preceded into Eternity by her husband, James W. Francis (1926 – 1996), her daughter-in-law, SanDee Francis (1956 – 2023) as well as her mother, father, and all of her siblings. True to her strong spirit, Carolyn was the last surviving relative of her generation. She is survived by her children: Jayne Estelle Howell (Mark), Jamie Sue Mason (Bruce), and J. Phillips Francis, eleven grand-children: Mark Howell (Jackie), J. Wesley Howell (Sara), Laura Johnson (Dusty), Bruce Mason, (Erin), Brittany Catron (Hunter), Alexandria Mason, J.P. Francis (Pauliane), Jacob Francis (Jackie), Scott Schutten (Danielle), Stacy Sommerville, and Sean Schutten, niece Juen Phillips, nephews: Kenneth Phillips (Tanya), Kenneth Phillips (Leurise), and sixteen great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held for Carolyn on May 25th, 2024 at 10:00am ET at Island Cremations and Funeral Home. Afterwards, Carolyn will be interred via a family graveside service at Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knoxville, TN.
Carolyn is a beacon, guiding us towards Jesus, who will live on in our memories and our hearts as long as we live.