Frances Eugenia (Burns) McGaha, 84, went to be with her Lord and Savior on July 6th, 2020 in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was born October 15, 1935 in Cleveland County, North Carolina, the sixth child of Robert Samuel and Rachel Malinda (Bolin) Burns. Frances was raised on a farm in Spartanburg County and attended rural primary schools and Pacolet High School. As a teenager, she contracted polio but recovered completely. Frances and a neighborhood friend, Carl Wall, started corresponding when Carl joined the U.S. Air Force. The correspondence led to love and they were married in 1953 after Carl graduated from photographic specialist training. Carl completed a 20-year Air Force career with Frances by his side. During that period, he and Frances were stationed in Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, and the Panama Canal Zone (PCZ). Three children were born into this union: Regina Carlett, born 1958 in the PCZ; Barry Charles, born 1963 in the PCZ; and Jeffrey Carl, born 1972 in Virginia.
Unfortunately, Carl died early at the age of 42 in 1976; and, Frances, with young children to care for, moved back to South Carolina and settled in Pacolet. Frances kept busy raising her two sons, attending Brown’s Chapel Baptist Church in Pacolet Mills, and talking on her CB radio. While talking on the CB, she befriended Charles Steadings and their friendship grew into romance. Charles and Frances were married in 1978. After a short three years of marriage, Charles died in 1981. Frances subsequently met Norman “Cecil” McGaha, an over-the-road truck driver from the Spartanburg area. Again, a romance developed, and Cecil and Frances were married in 1982. Cecil had been married three times before and had twelve natural and adopted children. All of these children were out on their own, but the younger ones became fond of Frances and kept in touch after Cecil died in 1996.
In 2006, Frances moved to Crete, Nebraska to live with Regina and her husband and help raise their son. The family became members of the Southview Baptist Church in Lincoln, and Frances enjoyed the many friends she developed there. She enjoyed reading and watching television, especially the game shows. In 2015, Frances went to live in the Waterford Assisted Living Facility in Lincoln where she remained until her death. While there, Frances fell in love with coloring and spent many hours engaged in that activity and gossiping with other residents.
Frances is survived by sons: Barry Wall, Jeffrey (Sonya) Wall, Chuck (Joy) McGaha and Larry (Sheridy) McGaha; daughters: Regina Wall (David) Linn, Norma Jean McGaha (Johnny) Warlick, Jackie McGaha (Frank) Griffard, Deborah McGaha, and Patricia McGaha Easler; biological grandchildren: Katlyn Wall (Jonny) Crocker, Donovan (Virginia) Wall, William (Lauren) Linn, Chelse Reed, and Abby Wall; numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Frances was preceded in death by her parents; sister: Sarah Alice Ledbetter; brothers: William Edward Burns (killed in France during WWII), Benjamin Davis Burns (died young), Robert Samuel Burns Jr., Cluff Hope Burns, and Roy Dean Burns.
Cremation. Memorial service will be at Brown’s Chapel Baptist Church, Pacolet Mills at a later date.