Frances M. Nichols

Frances M. Nichols, 87, of Orange, died, Sunday, December 16, 2007, in Port Arthur.
Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Thursday, December 20, 2007, at First Church of the Nazarene in Orange, with Pastor Steve Vaughn, officiating.
Entombment will follow in the Nichols Mausoleum at Orange Forest Lawn Cemetery in West Orange.
Visitation will be
5-9 p.m. Wednesday at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange.
Frances was born March 4, 1920, in Lacona, Iowa, the daughter of Roy C. and Clara Belle Dennison Millen.
A lifelong member of the Nazarene Church, she attended Southern Nazarene University for two years and graduated from Blinn Business College in Brenham.
She was a life member of the D.A.R. and a descendant of Civil War veterans as well.
During WW II, Frances worked for Consolidated
Steel Corporation as an acetylene welder.
Frances was an accomplished pianist and a member of the Valley Civic Chorus, where she sang in the opera "La Traviata," featuring Beverly Sills.
After she and Nick married, they traveled extensively throughout 48 states, Mexico, the Holy Land and seven countries of Europe. One of the many highlights of their travels came when she was baptized in the Jordan River.
Frances attended two Republican Presidential Inaugurations where she became a collector of elephants. She also collected covered bridges and was an avid photographer.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Clara Millen, brothers, Howard Millen, Fermer Millen and sister, June Millen.
She is survived by her husband, Ken ?Nick? Nichols of Orange; son, Mark Sanford and wife Julie Windham Sanford of Mauriceville, daughter, Lisa Sanford Costilla and husband Raymond
Costilla and stepson, Kenneth Stephen Nichols, all of West Orange; granddaughter, Meghan Leslie Sanford; and great granddaughter, Ava Lee Postlewait.