Frances Marie Zirkle
September 17, 1931 ~ February 5, 2024
Frances Marie Zirkle, also known as Fran, peacefully passed away on February 5, 2024, at the age of 92 in Aurora, Ohio. She was born on September 17, 1931, in Madison, Ohio, to Walter and Angeline Sironen. Fran was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who will be deeply missed by her family and friends.
Fran is survived by her daughters, Sharon Zirkle (William Rogers) and Deborah Richardson, and her sons, David (Sue) Zirkle and James (Bonita) Zirkle. She is also survived by her brother, Joseph (Rosemary) Sironen, and sister, Shirley Conley. She also has seven grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren plus one on the way. Fran was preceded in death by her son, Terry Zirkle, sister Florence Stone, brothers Tom Sironen and Karl Sironen, as well as her parents, an infant granddaughter and great grandson.
Fran graduated from Madison Memorial High School as part of the Class of 1949. She had a varied career, starting with working on the family farm in her early years. Fran also had the opportunity to work at the Rabbit Run Theater in Madison, Ohio, where she fondly recalled an encounter with Dustin "Dusty" Hoffman, who once borrowed her bike and crashed it into a tree. After high school, she became a live-in nanny for a family in University Heights. Later on, Fran worked as a PBX operator at Cleveland Trust Bank in Painesville, OH. Once she got married, she dedicated her time to being a homemaker and managing the bookkeeping for her husband's building business.
Fran found solace in her faith and enjoyed attending services at the Cathedral of Tomorrow and Ernest Angley services. She cherished her time spent sewing, trying new recipes, baking, and making wooden dolls. However, her greatest joy in life was her family, especially her children and grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Fran's memory can be made to Multiple Breed Rescue, through Venmo: Multiple Breed Rescue or PayPal: rescue@mbrohio.com or Check to Multiple Breed Rescue, 37305 Royalton Rd., Grafton, Ohio 44044.
Visitation and calling hours for Fran are 3-7pm Friday, February 16, 2024, at the Behm Family Funeral Home, 26 River St. Madison Ohio. Funeral service will be 11am Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the funeral home. Fran’s final resting place will be at Fairview Cemetery in Madison Village, with her son, Terry.
Please join us in celebrating the life of Frances Zirkle and honoring her memory. May she rest in eternal peace.
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Great memories of my sweet mom perming her hair when she lived in Madison. They would laugh and laugh. She was a sweet Aunt and I will miss her.
Fran and I were the only two of our siblings to graduate from high school and I owe that all to her helping me with my homework at an early age. She was a great teacher and I owe my success to her. She was the best sister anyone could ask for.
So sorry Dave. Prayers for you and your family
Sending love and prayers to Fran’s beloved family members…until you meet again.
Sharon and Family, my condolences to and prayers for you during this season. Your Mom was already an angle and is among them now. Healed and alive in every regard in a place better than we can imagine. I will be forever grateful for the role she played in my teen years that impacted who I grew to be and where I will spend eternity. I prefer RYP over RIP-Receive Your Peace Fran Zirkle-Jesus secured it, you believed and lived it!
I am deeply sorry for your loss. Sharon, I remember your Mom as a kind, loving and patient woman. I hope that your memories give you comfort and May she rest in peace.
Without this woman I don’t believe I ever would have survived, with such positivity, the loss of my son and so many others. She taught me about faith and Jesus and where to turn when the low feels unbearable. She also taught me how to give thanks and appreciation for all things.
It is because of my Grandma Zirkle that I have the faith and the strength that I have. She wasn’t able to attend Jermaine’s funeral so I took the recording to her and we watched it together. Some of the things she said to me after we watched it were more powerful than anything I’d heard before. She was a true woman of faith and a real believer in God.
When her son, my Uncle Terry, passed away, she said we will always have a special bond, both of us having lost a son. She told me once that without heartbreak we’d have weaker hearts and the best love given is always from those who have been hurt the deepest as long as they grew in faith.
Words I’ll never forget.
Faith is important and without her, I may never have known how to have it.
I will never forget all of our talks and time together.
After I ran a 5k to support memory loss, I went to visit her and show her the medal and tell her about it. I told her I did that for her. She said “oh, do I have memory loss, because I can’t remember the last time I ran?!” Then she said “boy, I guess I do!” Then started laughing and said “I am pretty funny, I haven’t forgotten that” 😂
I’m so happy she lived such a full and happy life.
Some words by Grandma-
“Don’t turn to people for happiness, turn to God”
“God often works the most when we feel it the least”