Frances Solinger

Frances Louella Solinger
Altoona

Frances Louella Solinger passed from this life on Thursday, August 13, 2015. She resided at the Mitchell Village Care Center for the past several years.

Frances was born in Hamilton, Iowa to James Arthur and Orpha Ann Hall on November 29, 1927. She was the fourth child in the family. She was always proud that her father had been a coal miner in southern Iowa. She would tell how he would often come home at night covered in black soot and she would not be allowed to hug him until he had washed.

Frances moved with her family to Des Moines, Iowa in 1943 when she was 15. Two years later, her beloved father died of a heart attack. The family was poor and had just lost its primary source of income, so Frances dropped out of her final year of high school to assist in the support of her mother and six siblings.

In 1949, she had to be convinced by a good friend to go on a date with Ardin Louis Solinger. Several months later, on May 27, 1950, they were married in a small ceremony before the Justice of the Peace and two witnesses, Ardin’s sister and her husband. The gold ring she received that day never left her finger for 65 years.

The union between Frances and Ardin produced seven children; six sons and a daughter. The death of Joel Benjamin by a miscarriage would always haunt her. She took great pride in her children and their accomplishments. Frances never tired of showing pictures of grandchildren to anyone and when visiting her in her home in Altoona, Iowa, it was a prerequisite for all visitors to see the most recent photographs which were always kept in an envelope on the table near her chair.

She had several occupations during her lifetime including waitress, cook, credit manager, and business owner. But her most rewarding was that of homemaker, mother and most especially, grandmother. Always ready to show her sense of humor, she was once told that she was now a great grandmother. To which she replied without hesitation, “I will have you know that I have always been a great grandmother!”

She is survived by her husband, Ardin Louis; her sons (and spouses), James (Cindy), Joseph (Becky), Jeffrey (Myndi), John (Kim), and Jess (Karla); and her daughter, Jennifer (Ron); 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, one great great-grandchild; and her remaining sister, Margie Hall.

She leaves us now to be reunited with her son, Joel Benjamin; her mother and father, her brothers and sisters who all passed from this life before her. She will be missed greatly as she was loved.

Visitation will be held from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 16, 2015, at Hamilton’s Altoona Funeral Home, 105 4th Street SW. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 17, 2015 also at the funeral home, with burial to follow at Rising Sun Cemetery.

Condolences may be expressed at:
www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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