Sarah Lou Grant Francis

Sarah Lou Grant Francis passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 5, 2026, at her home in Athens, Texas. She was 89 years old.

Sarah was born at home in English, Texas, on June 24, 1937, to William and Una Vee Coffman Grant. She spent her early years on a working farm in English before her family moved to Hooks, Texas, where her father opened Thomas & Grant Grocery. In school, Sarah was active and spirited — she loved softball and band, played the clarinet, and in her later high school years proudly served as Majorette. She was also named All-State second baseman on her Arkansas softball team, a point of pride she carried the rest of her life.

It was in the eighth grade that Sarah met the love of her life, James “Jim” Harvey Francis. They began dating their junior year, and on September 14, 1956, they married, beginning a partnership of seventy years that would become the foundation of everything they built together. More than husband and wife, they were the best of friends — logging countless miles across the country together, with Sarah serving as Jim's navigator and, ever the keeper of memories, as the historian of their travels, recording it all in journals. She never met a card game she did not love and spent many a night with friends and family laughing over a card table.

After high school, Sarah attended Texarkana College before moving to the Dallas–Fort Worth area to pursue her career. She joined Arlington Bank & Trust on July 23, 1973, beginning in the New Accounts Department of the Customer Service Center. In December 1974, she moved into the Marketing and Personnel Department, and by September 1976 she had returned to operations, earning a promotion to Supervisor of the Customer Service Center. She was later promoted again to Assistant Operations Officer. All the while, as Jim's work took him on the road, Sarah was the steady core of the family — the one who got the children to practices and recitals, ballgames and school events, week in and week out, holding everything together at home.

Sarah's love of softball never faded. Well into her fifties, she played alongside her son and son-in-law, holding down third base with a competitive streak that earned her a nickname from the whole team: “Mom.” That nickname captured who she was. Sarah welcomed her children's friends as if they were her own — if they loved her children, and her children loved them, they were family. Not “like” family. They simply were family.

For all her career accomplishments, Sarah's creativity may have been her quietest gift. Even while working full time, she sewed beautiful outfits for herself and her daughter, knitted, and wove baskets so lovingly made that they are still used in Chris's and Terri's homes today. She was also, by every account, an amazing cook — feeding family and friends with the same care she put into everything she made.

Sarah was a woman of deep and living faith. We know she is dancing in heaven with Jim once more — fully knowing him again, and rejoicing in the presence of her Savior.

Sarah is survived by her son, James “Chris” Francis and daughter-in-law Jodi; her daughter, Terri Crawford and son-in-law John; her brother-in-law, Robert “Bob” Francis, and sister-in-law Flo; seven grandchildren: Christopher Francis (partner Adrienne), John Crawford III (wife Katie), Brandt Frazier (wife Brittany), Ashley Powell (husband Chris), Kelli Frazier (partner Corey), Katelyn Jones (husband Conner), and Makenzie Jeffries (husband Nick); and nine great-grandchildren: Jade Frazier, Aiden Francis, Presley Rodriguez, Tatum Francis, Oliver Rodriguez, Trystan Frazier-Jezek, Jordan Powell, Caison Jones and Cameron Powell. She is also survived by many cousins and several nieces and nephews who loved her as their own.

Sarah was preceded in death by her husband of seventy years, Jim Francis (June 6, 2026); her parents, William and Una Vee Grant; and her sisters, Mary Ann Preston and Nina Jo Sherley.

Celebration of Life for Sarah Lou Grant Francis will be Saturday, July 25th at Williams Chapel English Cemetery English, Tx, at 1 p.m. Sandwiches, Chips, Cookies & Water served. Stories Shared
Attire: Dress comfortably in Spring/ Summer clothing.
 

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Cemetery would be appreciated. 
Mail to:
English Cemetery Society
P.O. Box 6
Clarksville, Tx 75426
    OR
We will have a donation jar available at the service.  

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sarah Lou Grant Francis, please visit our floral store.