Frances Ann Samuel, 89, died November 24, 2025, at Lake Barrington Woods assisted living. Until August 2025, she had been a resident of Elmhurst, IL, having first moved there in 1958. She was born on March 21, 1936, in Fancy Prairie, IL, to Ray and Florence (née Brinkmeyer) Dixon. She was one of ten siblings.
She spent her childhood years first in Fancy Prairie, then in Mechanicsburg, IL for a while, before moving to Berkeley, IL where she graduated from Proviso East High School. After school, she eventually went to work for General Electric Hotpoint in Cicero, IL, where she met her future husband, Harry. They married on October 18, 1958 in Berkeley. They had three children, Timmy, Karen, and the late Kevin.
Apart from her homemaking and child care life, she was an enthusiastic participant in all things related to The Berkeley-Hillside Presbyterian Church, which she had attended since the early 1950s, and where she and Harry were married. She was a member of the choir, attending weekly rehearsals and Sunday services. She also sang with her sisters Carol, Mary, Barb, and Lois as The Dixon Sisters for special church occasions.
Fran loved music and art; she enjoyed decorating the windows of their house on Bryan Street with soap illustrations of the Nativity and other Biblical scenes for the holidays. She was also an avid softball player, having spent many years playing in the park district softball league. She enjoyed reading short stories and novels, watched several soap operas, Dancing with the Stars, and her beloved game shows, Family Feud and Jeopardy! She also loved dogs! The family dogs King and Obie, her kids’ dogs, and all the neighborhood doggies, especially Buddy, fur-baby of next-door neighbors John and Suzanne.
Fran is preceded in death by her son Kevin, and her husband Harry. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Karen Schnier and husband Ron; Timmy and his husband Christopher Gotschall; and her grandchildren Dawson and Rook.
A visitation was held on November 30, 2025 at Elmhurst Community Funeral Home – THE AHLGRIM CHAPEL, followed by a funeral service held on December 1, 2025 at the funeral home. Interment will be at Chapel Hill Gardens West Cemetery, in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.
For more information, (630) 834-3515 or www.ElmhurstFH.com.