Gwendolyn Frances Burcham

On the evening of March 9th, 2016, Frances passed away peacefully. She was being cared for at the Olathe Health Center Hospice House in Olathe, KS at the time of her passing. She was 83 years old. Gwendolyn Frances Parker was born in Drake"s Creek, Arkansas on June 11th, 1932. She was the middle child, and the second daughter, of Leta Clair Drake and Nolan Henry Parker. Growing up on a dairy farm, Frances learned about working hard at a very young age. She would work before and after school, dawn to dusk, milking cows and completing other daily chores. After high school graduation she attended John Brown University for 2 years before finishing her bachelor"s and master"s degree in Home Economics at the University of Arkansas. While she was a student at the University of Arkansas, a walk to the closest filling station after running out of gas is how she met her husband, Jack, who worked at the gas station and was an engineering student. They were married at First Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas on April 9th, 1955. After living in Wichita, KS for a little over a year they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas where they lived for 46 years. Frances started out her career teaching Home Economics at Mabelvale High School where she was also the Lionette drill team sponsor. She then worked for the Pulaski County Cooperative Extension Service. Frances then started working as a Home Economist for The Arkansas Dairy Association where she served as the chaperone for the American dairy princes. During this time she traveled over 10,000 miles covering the state of Arkansas, making public relations appearances. In 1964 Frances was selected as the Director of the Arkansas Dairy Council and was responsible for organizing and implementing Arkansas" first Dairy Council which was an affiliate of the National Dairy Council. Frances was program host to countless television and radio shows, promoting dairy products and their correlation in maintaining a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition and food preparation. She spoke before hundreds of civic organizations, school assemblies, and community clubs promoting the dairy industry. She served on the Arkansas State Fair Board and was director of women"s programs for Pulaski County and the Arkansas State Fair Association. In 1975, Frances opened The Homestead Gift Shop. Several years later a tennis court was added behind the gift shop and it became The Homestead Gift Shop and Tennis Center complete with tennis lessons and a pro shop for stringing racquets and selling tennis supplies and gifts. While she owned and managed her gift shop, she also served as Director of the Arts & Crafts Department for the Arkansas State Fair. For 15 years, during the annual state fair in the fall, she took in hundreds of paintings, quilts, pottery and baked goods just to name a few of the categories. This included receiving the entries, finding judges, awarding ribbons, displaying during the fair and returning the items to all the competitors. In the summer of 1990 Frances and her daughter went on the adventure of a lifetime. Thresa played a semi-pro tennis circuit in France. They toured all over France and drove from Switzerland down to the southern border of Spain and also visited a college teammate in England. Visiting Carmen Rodriguez Tabernero in Seville, Spain was also a highlight. Carmen stayed with Frances and Jack as a foreign exchange student the year Thresa went off to college. In 2005 Frances and Jack moved to Louisburg, Kansas to be close to their daughter and grandsons. Being "Nana" to Kyle and Alex brought so much joy to Frances. She enjoyed being at all their birthdays, sporting events and other activities. While in Louisburg, Frances was an active member of the Lions Club, Red Hat Society, and Daughters of the American Revolution. Frances served on the board of the Miami County Historical Museum. She also enjoyed entering her 1957 Convertible Thunderbird, which she purchased brand new in 1957, in local and national car competitions. Frances devoted her entire adult life to her passion which was genealogy. At the time of her passing she had an office dedicated to the storage of her life"s work which included over 100 books where she documented family lines for herself and her husband, Jack. This was a hobby that Frances continued to work on until her final days. Frances loved reading, enjoyed trying new recipes and sharing her culinary creations with family and friends, and had a wonderful smile that could light up a room. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who always put her family before herself. Frances is preceded the in death by her parents Nolan Henry and Leta Clair Parker, her older sister Geneva Fern Bruce and younger brother Truman Dallas Parker. Frances is survived by her husband, Ralph Jack Burcham, daughter Thresa Burcham Johnson and two grandsons, Kyle and Alex Johnson all of whom live in the Kansas City area. She is also survived by her cousin Reverend Lindell Watson who was a great comfort to her in the last days of her life. Memorial gifts may be made to Louisburg First Baptist Church, 406 S Vine St. Louisburg, KS 66053 or The Louisburg Senior Center, 504 S. Metcalf Road, Louisburg, KS 66053. To share a memory of Gwendolyn or leave a special condolence message for her family, please click the Share Memories" button above. First Baptist Church Service: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at 10:00 AM Visitation: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM