Obituary for Frances Myers deCordova

Frances Myers deCordova passed away on Thursday August 7, 2008 from age-related causes.  She was 89 years old.

Born to Artie and Richard Myers on June 14, 1919, Frances was raised on a farm north of Gordonville.  After graduating from Whitesboro High School, Frances moved to Denton to attend Texas State College for Women (now Texas Women's University), from which she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1941.  That same year she married Jack deCordova at the Little Chapel-in-the-Woods, and began working for the Waco Public Library while Jack was sent to fight in World War II.

After returning to Denton, Frances became the librarian at TWU's demonstration school, working with library science students doing their student teaching work, a position she held until 1959.  She received her Master's in Library Science and joined the faculty of TWU's School of Library Science in 1959.  During her years at TWU, in addition to becoming a beloved and inspirational teacher, Frances served as Chair of the Texas Association of School Librarians (1962-1963), on the Executive Board of the Texas Library Association (1966-1969), and State Representative for the Southwestern Library Association (1967-1969), as well as authoring several articles on children's literature.

Frances took early retirement in 1976 to travel with her husband and their son, Richard.  During that period she was also an active volunteer in the Denton community, becoming a vital member of the First United Methodist Church, the Visual Arts Center, and the Arts Guild, as well as Delta Kappa Gamma, Beta Phi Mu and the Texas Library Association.  She was thrilled to see Richard join the faculty at DePaul University as a Professor of Film Studies in the Department of Communications, and enjoyed traveling to Chicago to visit with him and her grandchildren, Jacob and Emily.  After Richard's untimely death from cancer in 1996, Richard's widow Susan moved their family to Ojai, California, where Frances joined them in 2004 to spend the last years of her life with her grandchildren.

Frances was preceded in death by Jack and Richard, and is survived by Jacob, Emily and Susan, several cousins, and innumerable friends from over the years.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM Friday August 15, 2008 at Allison Cemetery, north of Whitesboro, TX. A gathering of family and friends will begin later that same day at 4:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church, 201 S. Locust, Denton, TX.