McInnish, "Fanny" Billie Frances
71, of Nocona, Texas. Passed away April 2, 2009. Scott-Morris Funeral Home 940-825-3338

The Dallas Morning News - April 5, 2009
Submitted by Betty Lou (Stanley) Dennis

Billie Frances "Fanny" McInnish

Billie Frances "Fanny" McInnish, 71, of Nocona died April 2, 2009 in Nocona.

She was born Oct. 22, 1937 in Renner to Roy and Dorthanna Williams. She married Jack McInnish. She attended the First United Methodist Church of Nocona and was a lifelong Methodist. She was a member of God's Call, a ministering team, and the Wichita Falls District Walk to Emmaus. She worked as a nurses' aid, specializing in Alzheimer patients.

Graveside services were Saturday, April 4 at Swisher Cemetery in Lake Dallas. The Rev. William LaBarr officiated. Funeral services were under the direction of Scott-Morris Funeral Home in Nocona.

Survivors include her husband, Jack of Nocona; four children: daughter Kelly Ann Sondheim and husband Doug of Fredericksburg; daughter Sherry Miller and husband Rick of Highland Village; son Chris McInnish of Irving; son Jeff McInnish and wife Cynthia of Nocona; 10 grandchildren, a sister-in-law, Charlene Kearns.

Submitted by Betty Lou (Stanley) Dennis

What can I tell you?

She was beautiful. She was exciting to be with. She was always up to something new and -- near as I could tell -- she was never bored. She loved very nearly every single human she came into contact with. She made friends and met friends everywhere she went.

She was sorry she never had a brother or a sister.

Her hero was her own father, Roy.

She loved the four of you with a deep passion.

Because of your Mom Mom, I grew up surrounded by a large group of friends and extended family that I loved and wanted to be with.

Born at home with a doctor in attendance in a share cropper's shack on Coit Farm. The family moved to the "city" when she was a young teenager.

Mom Mom graduated R.L. Turner High School in December, 1954. She and Daddy married for the first time a couple of months later. Kelly was born in October.

They lived for a while with Granmommie and Grandaddy. By the time I was born, we lived on the McInnish farm on Sandy Lake Road.

Mom Mom and Papa Jack divorced the first time when I was 4. Only for a short time. A year, maybe less. They went to Mexico to get that divorce. People did that, then. There was no waiting period in Mexico. In Texas, divorce was complicated and expensive. I remember the day they came home from Mexico. We were staying at Mamaw's, playing under the big pecan trees. Mom Mom and Papa Jack drove up into the yard in a pickup truck. We ran to greet them, all happy and squealing. They gave us presents. Maracas and giant straw sombreros.

In 1960 they were remarried and we moved to Lake Dallas. They moved to get away from the encroaching city, wanted to live in a small town. They were sure the urban development could never get to them there, the lake would be an insurmountable barrier to the ever-creeping city.

They divorced the second time around 1970. Their troubles centered around money. Mom Mom needed more security. Papa Jack needed more liberty.

That was a dark time. Lonely. Lost feeling. Busted and not fixed. But Mom Mom was still a joy to live with. Figure, these were my high school years. We disagreed and hollered a couple of times. We were growing apart, spending less and less time together. Even so, we always enjoyed being together. Had fun together and with larger groups of family. Mom Mom kept us all involved with our cousins and extended group of friends.

That year, 1975, Mother married Dewey Whiteside. He and his children, Jeff and Toni, moved into Mom's house with her, Chris and Jeffrey. Together, they had a house full of kids and Mother loved that. From her point of view, Jeff and Toni became her own. She and Dewey were married ten years. They divorced after ten years or so.

A few years later, she married Lucius Ward. He brought with him his own young daughter Amanda. Mom helped raise Amanda, too. That marriage lasted about three years.

In those years, after that divorce and before she moved to Fredericksburg, she moved from place to place, often lived with dear and devoted friends. Thanna Bounds in Lake Dallas. Rae Nell and Jon Casseaux in Harbor Grove. (Rae Nell was in High School with Mom and Daddy) Do y'all remember that? When Savannah was a baby? Their house had a big above-ground pool in the back yard. When Sam was born, Mother and Jeffrey were sharing a house in Lewisville with Mother's good friend Reba and her son who was Jeff's same age.

Biographical:
Born October 22, 1937 in Dallas, Texas
Died April 2, 2009 in Nocona, Texas
from brain tumor, glioblastoma
Buried in Swisher Cemetery, Lake Dallas, Texas


Her kids: Kelly was born in 1955
I was born in 1956
Chris was born in 1960
Jeffrey was born in 1968

Copied from the Family Blog: http://texassnappingturtle.blogspot.com/

McINNISH
JACK L - JUNE 13, 1936 - DEC 26, 2009
FANNY W. - OCT 22, 1937 - APR 2, 2009

Swisher Cemetery, Lake Dallas, Denton County, Texas