Obituary for FRANCES JOAN CROSS HICKS
FRANCES JOAN CROSS HICKS
May 13, 1929 – February 14, 2021
Fittingly, Frances Joan Cross Hicks joined the true love of her life – her Lord Jesus
Christ – on Valentine’s Day. Frances was born May 13, 1929, in Elizabeth, Louisiana,
to Elbert Eugene Cross, Sr., and Hazel LaBelle Thompson Cross, and was the second
of four children. Elizabeth was a “sawmill town” with one main street. Only one side of
the street had businesses on it, making it, in effect, the forerunner of the modern mall
since each store had a front door and then a door leading into the next store. The smell
of the chemicals used in the pulpwood and lumber processing mills permeated
everything, even to the highway outside of town. Later, when she and her children were
coming from Texas for their annual summer visit with Momma Hazel and Daddy Bert,
the kids knew that smell meant their destination was near.
Frances was blessed with grandparents and lots of cousins who lived in Elizabeth and
Oakdale. Her mother and grandmother sewed every dress she wore. There were also
trips to New Iberia, Louisiana, and Orange, Texas, to visit even more cousins and to go
to the beach in Texas.
Although extremely petite, Frances kept up with her three brothers. She played softball,
climbed trees, and even jumped off the neighbor’s garage roof, dreading the jar of
hitting the ground. She was known for her quick mind, inquisitive nature, love of reading,
and sparkling green eyes.
Frances accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord when she was nine years old.
From that point on, she was a steadfast Christian, and Bible study and prayer were
priorities throughout her entire life. Frances had a lovely high soprano voice and sang
solos regularly in church and was the soprano in a teen quartet that visited other
churches to sing. She was also the accompanist for the group.
Frances attended Elizabeth High School and graduated first in her class at age 16, as
was common in those days. Although she had taken piano classes for only two years,
McNeese Junior College was so impressed with her that it awarded her scholarships in
both academics and voice and piano.
However, Frances’s plans for college were set aside after she met Jack Ted Hicks, a
clerk with the Santa Fe Railroad, one day in a local café during a crowded lunch time.
He asked if he could join her at her table since there were no chairs left open in the
room. She agreed and good conversation followed. Ted left before she did, and when
she prepared to pay for her lunch, the cashier told her that the gentleman had already
done that. The relationship grew and before long, they were married. They lived in
Elizabeth a little over a year, then followed Ted’s job with Santa Fe to Carthage, Texas,
where they lived on Dixie Lake.
Frances was a “church lady” in the finest sense of the term. - faithful to Sunday School,
worship, WMU, VBS work, and, most importantly, preparing each of her four children
came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Every Saturday evening was
devoted to preparing to attend church the next day. Frances made sure baths were
taken, hair was washed, shoes were polished, clothes were ironed and laid out, and
Sunday School lessons were read. No one was allowed to play outside after baths so
as to be clean for Sunday, and no hard playing was allowed inside, either, since there
was no air-conditioning.
The family later moved to Center, Texas, in the early 1960’s and lived in a rent house
on one of the busiest streets in Center. Frances moved her letter and Carolyn’s to First
Baptist Church. She made sure that her children’s spiritual lives and church participation
didn’t miss a beat and that they all made professions of faith in Jesus and were
appropriately baptized by immersion.
During that time, Frances completed studies to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse
and began work in the local hospital, serving in all capacities from floor rotations to
assisting in surgery to Emergency Room duties. She even helped a doctor perform an
autopsy. Several years later, she moved to Tyler, Texas, and spent her final nine years
as a nurse on the oncology floor at UT Health Center in Tyler.
After her retirement, health reasons required her to live with daughter Sue Ellen in
Clearlake, Texas, for a few years. She moved to Irving in 2003 and, with daughter
Carolyn handling various aspects of her life, was able to be in her own apartment,
where she became part of a circle of dear friends. In 2017 she became a resident of
Avanté Rehabilitation Center due to increased health issues.
In her younger adult days, Frances had loved to travel and see new places and people.
Her lifelong interests were reading, politics, history, music, gardening, and nature,
particularly birds. She often remarked that if people lived as gently on the land and
depended on the Lord’s care as the birds do, our world be in far better shape than it is
now.
Above all, she loved her family and prayed daily for them. She also loved her church
and her Sunday School friends at Plymouth Park Baptist, as well as those she left
behind at Southern Oaks Baptist in Tyler, whom she prayed for as well.
Frances is preceded in death by her parents, Elbert Eugene Cross, Sr., and Hazel
LaBelle Thompson Cross; brothers: Elbert Eugene Cross, Jr., Kenneth Alan Cross, and
Herbert Terrell Cross; granddaughter Amy Thomas; and husband, Jack Ted Hicks.
She is survived by her daughters: Carolyn Owens and husband John of Irving, TX; Sue
Ellen Mott of Friendswood, TX; and Jere Foster of Paris, TX; son: Ted Thomas Hicks of
Joaquin, TX; grandchildren: John Richard Owens, Jr. and wife Debra, Cynthia Owens Alcorn, Denise Baker, Joey Brenneman and husband Mike, Justin Mott, Marie
Foster, Nolan Foster, and Donna Hicks Thompson and husband Clay; greatgrandchildren: Cassidy Chanel Owens, Shaina Alexis Owens, Jordan Eliana Delos Santos, Victoria Baker, James Baker, William Baker, Gavin Vriend, Ethan Garner, Jaeda Thomas, Erin King, Seth Thompson, and Gage Thompson; great greatgrandchildren: Carter Ryanne Delos Santos and Jamison Luke Hanson; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
The family extends warmest appreciation to all involved with Avante Rehabilitation
Center for the attentive care given to Frances – former owner Phillip Prince, current
owner Daniel Prince, and all staff.
If memorial contributions are desired, they may be made to Frances’ church - Plymouth
Park Baptist Church; 1714 North Story Road; Irving, TX 75061.
May 13, 1929 – February 14, 2021
Fittingly, Frances Joan Cross Hicks joined the true love of her life – her Lord Jesus
Christ – on Valentine’s Day. Frances was born May 13, 1929, in Elizabeth, Louisiana,
to Elbert Eugene Cross, Sr., and Hazel LaBelle Thompson Cross, and was the second
of four children. Elizabeth was a “sawmill town” with one main street. Only one side of
the street had businesses on it, making it, in effect, the forerunner of the modern mall
since each store had a front door and then a door leading into the next store. The smell
of the chemicals used in the pulpwood and lumber processing mills permeated
everything, even to the highway outside of town. Later, when she and her children were
coming from Texas for their annual summer visit with Momma Hazel and Daddy Bert,
the kids knew that smell meant their destination was near.
Frances was blessed with grandparents and lots of cousins who lived in Elizabeth and
Oakdale. Her mother and grandmother sewed every dress she wore. There were also
trips to New Iberia, Louisiana, and Orange, Texas, to visit even more cousins and to go
to the beach in Texas.
Although extremely petite, Frances kept up with her three brothers. She played softball,
climbed trees, and even jumped off the neighbor’s garage roof, dreading the jar of
hitting the ground. She was known for her quick mind, inquisitive nature, love of reading,
and sparkling green eyes.
Frances accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord when she was nine years old.
From that point on, she was a steadfast Christian, and Bible study and prayer were
priorities throughout her entire life. Frances had a lovely high soprano voice and sang
solos regularly in church and was the soprano in a teen quartet that visited other
churches to sing. She was also the accompanist for the group.
Frances attended Elizabeth High School and graduated first in her class at age 16, as
was common in those days. Although she had taken piano classes for only two years,
McNeese Junior College was so impressed with her that it awarded her scholarships in
both academics and voice and piano.
However, Frances’s plans for college were set aside after she met Jack Ted Hicks, a
clerk with the Santa Fe Railroad, one day in a local café during a crowded lunch time.
He asked if he could join her at her table since there were no chairs left open in the
room. She agreed and good conversation followed. Ted left before she did, and when
she prepared to pay for her lunch, the cashier told her that the gentleman had already
done that. The relationship grew and before long, they were married. They lived in
Elizabeth a little over a year, then followed Ted’s job with Santa Fe to Carthage, Texas,
where they lived on Dixie Lake.
Frances was a “church lady” in the finest sense of the term. - faithful to Sunday School,
worship, WMU, VBS work, and, most importantly, preparing each of her four children
came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Every Saturday evening was
devoted to preparing to attend church the next day. Frances made sure baths were
taken, hair was washed, shoes were polished, clothes were ironed and laid out, and
Sunday School lessons were read. No one was allowed to play outside after baths so
as to be clean for Sunday, and no hard playing was allowed inside, either, since there
was no air-conditioning.
The family later moved to Center, Texas, in the early 1960’s and lived in a rent house
on one of the busiest streets in Center. Frances moved her letter and Carolyn’s to First
Baptist Church. She made sure that her children’s spiritual lives and church participation
didn’t miss a beat and that they all made professions of faith in Jesus and were
appropriately baptized by immersion.
During that time, Frances completed studies to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse
and began work in the local hospital, serving in all capacities from floor rotations to
assisting in surgery to Emergency Room duties. She even helped a doctor perform an
autopsy. Several years later, she moved to Tyler, Texas, and spent her final nine years
as a nurse on the oncology floor at UT Health Center in Tyler.
After her retirement, health reasons required her to live with daughter Sue Ellen in
Clearlake, Texas, for a few years. She moved to Irving in 2003 and, with daughter
Carolyn handling various aspects of her life, was able to be in her own apartment,
where she became part of a circle of dear friends. In 2017 she became a resident of
Avanté Rehabilitation Center due to increased health issues.
In her younger adult days, Frances had loved to travel and see new places and people.
Her lifelong interests were reading, politics, history, music, gardening, and nature,
particularly birds. She often remarked that if people lived as gently on the land and
depended on the Lord’s care as the birds do, our world be in far better shape than it is
now.
Above all, she loved her family and prayed daily for them. She also loved her church
and her Sunday School friends at Plymouth Park Baptist, as well as those she left
behind at Southern Oaks Baptist in Tyler, whom she prayed for as well.
Frances is preceded in death by her parents, Elbert Eugene Cross, Sr., and Hazel
LaBelle Thompson Cross; brothers: Elbert Eugene Cross, Jr., Kenneth Alan Cross, and
Herbert Terrell Cross; granddaughter Amy Thomas; and husband, Jack Ted Hicks.
She is survived by her daughters: Carolyn Owens and husband John of Irving, TX; Sue
Ellen Mott of Friendswood, TX; and Jere Foster of Paris, TX; son: Ted Thomas Hicks of
Joaquin, TX; grandchildren: John Richard Owens, Jr. and wife Debra, Cynthia Owens Alcorn, Denise Baker, Joey Brenneman and husband Mike, Justin Mott, Marie
Foster, Nolan Foster, and Donna Hicks Thompson and husband Clay; greatgrandchildren: Cassidy Chanel Owens, Shaina Alexis Owens, Jordan Eliana Delos Santos, Victoria Baker, James Baker, William Baker, Gavin Vriend, Ethan Garner, Jaeda Thomas, Erin King, Seth Thompson, and Gage Thompson; great greatgrandchildren: Carter Ryanne Delos Santos and Jamison Luke Hanson; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
The family extends warmest appreciation to all involved with Avante Rehabilitation
Center for the attentive care given to Frances – former owner Phillip Prince, current
owner Daniel Prince, and all staff.
If memorial contributions are desired, they may be made to Frances’ church - Plymouth
Park Baptist Church; 1714 North Story Road; Irving, TX 75061.