Wilma "Kathie" Kathryn Franco's Obituary
Wilma Kathryn Franco (Kathie) passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 22, 2022, at age 91. She was surrounded by family. Kathie was born on October 18, 1930, in Seattle, Washington, the only child of Kris (Grandy) of Iceland, and William Cavanaugh, who was of English and Irish descent.
Kathie grew up during the Great Depression and World War II in Seattle. She remembers standing in bread lines and practicing air raid drills at school. She loved art and fashion, and as a young girl was mesmerized watching the live modeling shows in Seattle's swanky downtown department stores. She would go home and design paper dolls after what she saw. She loved ice skating, playing and watching baseball, ballroom dancing, and enjoying the boating and waterfront amenities of Seattle. She also modeled for photographers and shoe stores, and once was named Miss Griffith Park as a local pageant winner.
After marrying Ray Franco in 1953, Kathie lived in Los Angeles for 20 years, where she developed a love for theater acting and performed in many live stage productions. She enjoyed working with her hands and spent many years in high tech electronics, creating circuit boards for military navy ships and commercial security systems. She was a gifted artist, talented in painting, sketching, and ceramic tiling, as well as an ardent gardener and landscaper.
Kathie loved God and family greatly. Originally confirmed a Lutheran, she spent most of her adult life as a member of the Worldwide Church of God. Ray and Kathie moved to Medford, Oregon to raise their children in the country, where they grew their own food from the garden and had a host of farm animals. In 1978 they moved to Portland, where she lived until retiring in Fort Wayne to be near her kids and grandkids in 1999. There she was an integral part of her grandchildren's lives growing up, and watched both graduate.
Kathie is survived by her daughter, Kelli (Franco) Brandenberger, son-in-law, Joseph A. Brandenberger, a grandson, Cole Michael Brandenberger, and a granddaughter, Tara Nicole Brandenberger. She was preceded in death by her eldest daughter, Kristi Paige Franco, who passed in 1980, and her husband of fifty three years, Raymond Vito Franco of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who passed away in 2006.
A celebration of Kathie's 91 years of life is scheduled for Friday, May 27, 2022, at 2 p.m. at the chapel in Concordia Gardens, located at 5365 Lake Avenue, Fort Wayne, with interment to follow onsite. Kathie faithfully supported the local Allen County SPCA (now Humane Fort Wayne) because of her great compassion for animals, as well as the Christian ministry of Charles Stanley, if you would like to give a donation in her honor. To share online condolences and memories, please visit Harper Funeral Home's obituary site at www.harperfuneralhome.com.
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