John & Frances North Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Remembrance for Mom and Dad John and Frances North Life has come full circle for John Gilmore North and Frances Gray North. While their mortal remains have come home to rest, their immortal souls have moved on to eternity. They celebrated their marriage on May 12, 1946 at the Trinity Methodist Church in Brookfield and on May 12, 2022, 76 years later, there will be a celebration of their lives together at the same Church. John Gilmore North was born on 7/29/1922 at Armour, NE to Everett Verne North and Cora Icel Barnes North. The family moved in 1936 to a farm near Brookfield. He worked on the farm before graduating from Brookfield High School in 1940. After graduation he worked at the Schaefer coal mine and a filling station before leaving Brookfield in 1/1942 to attend aircraft school in Omaha, NE. He then went to work in the shipyards at Puget Sound, WA before joining the Navy on 7/30/1943 as a ship fitter and served in the Asiatic Pacific theatre until his discharge on 4/2/1946. Frances Gray was born in Brookfield on May 18, 1927 to Joseph Jacob Gray and Pearl Severins Gray. Her father was a conductor on the CB & Q railroad and she probably rode the train more than most children her age. She just loved to ride the train. She worked part-time at the Linn County News prior to her graduation from Brookfield High School in 1945 and then attended Kirksville College for one year. John and Frances met on a blind date arranged by John’s brother while both were home on leave in 1944. According to all accounts, it was love at first sight. After their marriage on 5/12/1946, three of their children were born in Brookfield and baptized at the Trinity Methodist Church. In 1953 the family moved to Murdock, NE where John helped his brother run a lumberyard and build houses. A couple of years later they moved to Norfolk, NE where in 1961 another child was born. In 1965 the family moved to Omaha, NE where another child was born in 1969. John retired in 1984 after working as a vending and coin machine technician for over 38 years, and also continued to work odd jobs just for fun. Frances also worked in numerous positions, mostly involving accounting beginning shortly after they moved to Norfolk, NE, along with the regular duties of wife and mother, until she retired in the early 90’s. When not working or attending to the usual duties of mother, father, and grandparents they had numerous hobbies. Frances was an excellent cook and baker and an accomplished seamstress and quilter in her spare time. She also liked to watch baseball and football games, read, TV game shows and played computer card games. John served over 20 years as a scout master for several Boy Scout Troops in Norfolk and Omaha, and enjoyed “fixer-upper” projects and “going junking” at garage sales, auctions, and flea markets to find items to fix up and resell, or collect for himself. In 1987, with the help of their children and other family members, they built the “house of their dreams” at Beaver Lake, NE. In 2002 John and Frances moved to Erlanger, KY to be near their two youngest children and their families. John died January 18, 2014 and Frances died July 8, 2020, and both of their bodies were donated per their wishes to the University of Cincinnati for anatomical research and their ashes will be inurned together just as they requested. They are survived by four children, spouses, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews, and maybe a few friends who outlived them. Their second oldest son preceded them in death in 2010. Their celebration of life service for a life well lived will be on 5/12/2022 at 11:00 am at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Brookfield with Pastor Joel Kidwell officiating. Prior to the service there will be a visitation with the family from 10:30-11:00 am at the back of the sanctuary. Directly after the service there will be a graveside service with military honors and inurnment at the Parklawn Memory Gardens. Rhodes Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. The family requests no flowers and any memorials should be given to the Trinity United Methodist Church and/or the American Legion post in Brookfield