Mary H. Francis

MARY HOLMES FRANCIS, affectionately known as “Dee”, was born in Baltimore, Maryland on June 11, 1931 to the late Bennie Franklin Holmes and Frances Bradford Holmes. She departed this life on March 2, 2014 after waging a courageous battle with several serious illnesses. She accepted Christ at an early age and was active in her church, Berean Baptist Church in Pimlico. In her senior years, she became a member at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. She received her education in Baltimore area schools and graduated from the Frederick Douglass High School in 1949. She also attended Cortez Peters Business School and the Community College of Baltimore. For a number of years, “Dee” worked at the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD). During her time at the BCHD - Druid Hill Clinic, she was called one of the “Three Musketeers”, which included three lifelong friends -- the late Sylvia “Brooksie” Tilghman and Katherine Clark who nicknamed her “Jazz”. Later she transferred to the Maryland State Department of Social Services where she was employed as a Caseworker until her retirement. She married the love of her life, the late Arthur K. Francis, Jr., and was a devoted wife and mother. She cared deeply for her family, often sacrificing and giving when others had given up hope. “Dee” had a beautiful voice and loved to sing, dance and be sociable. She sang with a 25-voice girl’s choir that traveled to nearby army bases during and after World War II. She was a great cook and had a tremendous sense of humor, telling jokes and cheering the nurses and visitors who came to see her. She was also an avid horse racing enthusiast. She was preceded in death by: her husband of 35 years, Arthur K. Francis, Jr.; her son, Michael Vincent Stewart; and her brother, Floyd Holmes. She leaves to mourn: two loving daughters, Janice Stewart Ewing and Angela Stewart Mitchell; brother, Benjamin Holmes (Joyce); sister, Nancy Marie Saul (Sydney); four grandchildren, Gregory Ewing, II, Jeffrey Ewing, Marleta Mitchell, Chelsea Mitchell; two great- grandchildren, two stepchildren; devoted friends, Alice and Tony Lee, Katherine Clark; a host of other relatives and friends.

Tributes

Mary H. Francis

June 11, 1931 - March 2, 2014