CALDWELL COUNTY,KY - William Alvin Francis, former resident of Evansville, Indiana and a resident of Plainfield, Indiana since 2006, passed away peacefully at home on January 26, 2012. He was 87 years old.
William Alvin Francis was born September 7, 1924 in Caldwell County, Kentucky, the son of Herbert Francis and Ethel Olive Jones Francis. William attended Farmersville High School in Caldwell County, and joined the Army shortly after graduating in 1943. Mr. Francis was a World War II veteran whose three years of military service included basic training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. William was a member of the U.S. Army Third Division, Seventh Infantry, Company L. Mr. Francis fought in the Seventh Infantry across France and Germany, including the fierce battle of the Colmar Pocket. His unit was awarded the Croix de Guerre and was the first to reach Berchtesgaden, Germany on May 4, 1945 at the end of World War II.
After the war, William Francis married Geneva Estelle Dycus, of Princeton, Kentucky, and moved to Evansville, Indiana where he was a member of Washington Avenue Baptist Church. He worked for Hoosier Cardinal, Riverside Boat & Motor Company, and retired from Whirlpool after 28 years as a press operator. William and his wife Geneva occasionally held Bible fellowships in their home, and maintained a teaching tape library for local fellowship use for many years. William enjoyed country and gospel music, fishing, and working on cars with his brother-in-law, James (Pee Wee) Kelly.
After his 1990 retirement from Whirlpool, William and his wife Geneva enjoyed driving around the country together to visit family, including taking frequent vacations to Gulf Shores, Alabama with his brother and sister-in-law, Hubert and Delores Francis. William also enjoyed driving cars for Expressway Dodge. In 2006, William and Geneva moved from Evansville to the Indianapolis area to be near their daughters.
Survivors include a brother, Hubert Francis, of Central City, Kentucky, a sister, Wilma Wilson of Jeffersonville, Indiana, a half brother, Kenneth Francis, of Lake Malone, Kentucky, and a step sister Dorothy Mc Neeley. William is also survived by his wife of 65 and a half years, Geneva Francis of Plainfield, Indiana. William and Geneva have three daughters: Wilma Leigh Francis and Marcia Nessle, both of Plainfield, Indiana, and Gloria de Pasquale of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. William and Geneva have four grandchildren: Benjamin Francis Johns, Zachary Mills Johns, Francesca Rose de Pasquale, and Jennifer Renn Nessle. William and Geneva also have one great-grandchild, Annabelle Lee Johns.
Visitation for William Alvin Francis will be held on Sunday, January 29, from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. Memorial service will be held on Monday, January 30, at 11:oo a.m. at the Morgan Funeral Home in Princeton, Kentucky. Burial will be at Chestnut Oaks Cemetery in Lyon County, Kentucky.
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