Name} Miller, Frances Dorthea (Fran) |
Family History} Olson |
Title} |
Race} White |
Sex} Female |
Birth: Date} Exa 24 Sep 1923 |
Place} Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey |
Marr.: Date} Exa 1 Oct 1944 M |
Place} First Presbyterian Church, Alhambra, Los Angeles, CA (Link) |
Death: Date} Exa 6 Jan 2013 |
Place} Pomona Valley Hospital, Pomona, Los Angeles, California |
Burial: Date} Exa 12 Jan 2013 |
Place} Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Los Angeles, California |
| Grave Marker} |
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Parents: } Peter John Miller & Evelyn Mae Baldwin
Relationship No.} 3 |
1st Household No.} 259 = Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia |
Occupation 1} Housewife
Occupation 2} Musician |
Religion/Church} Presbyterian/Methodist |
Spouses: Prime}
Olson, Donald Keith (Don)
Total Number of} 1 |
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Notes:
Frances Dorthea Miller (Fran) was born 24 Sep 1923 in Perth Amboy, Middlesex, New Jersey.
Her parents were Peter John Miller and Evelyn Mae Baldwin. She was named after her two grandmothers.
She had two older brothers: John Leslie (Jack) born in 1919 and Robert Alfred (Bob) born in 1921.
Her two younger brothers were born in 1926 and 1929, all in Perth Amboy.
In the 1930 U.S. census, Fran's father was an inmate in the U.S. Federal Penitentiary, Alanta, Georgia, and the family
moved to Atlanta, Georgia for one year. Fran spent the 1st grade here. Returning
to Perth Amboy, her family moved almost every year, usually living in houses, but sometimes in small flats
over store shops. On 5 Oct 1935, the family left for California by the southern route, traveling in a Model A as
seen above. They settled in Wilmar (now Rosemead) on Stevens Street. Her only sister was born several
years later.
Fran attended 7th through 12th grades at Alhambra High School, graduating in 1941. She was the
winner of a Parent-Teacher Association scholarship award for maintaining the highest scholastic average
of the girls in her class. Additionally she won a $600 music scholarship to the University of
Redlands located in Redlands, California.
Fran attended the University of Redlands as a music major for one year before she had to interupt her
studies to earn money. She became a riveter during WWII (1942-43) for Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach,
California, working on B-17 (Flying Fortress) aircraft. She returned to Redlands to complete her second
year of studies. She was a member of Kappa Pi Zeta.
Fran was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Alhambra. She joined the church choir in late 1940, singing
soprano. The choir is where she met her future husband, Donald Olson. In later years she sang
for funerals and weddings. She left the Alhambra choir in 1973 or 1974 to sing with the Pasadena Congregational
Church choir. One Palm Sunday, she was a soloist with the Alhambra Civic Chorus in Theodore DuBois' Lenten
cantata, "The Seven Last Words of Christ". In 1997, she began singing with the Claremont Methodist choir.
She also learned to play the organ, and had a pipe organ built for their Mt. Baldy home.
Fran married Donald Keith Olson on 1 Oct 1944 in the First Presbyterian Church of Alhambra, seen at right. She and
Don had 7 children, 16 grandchildren, and by 2005, 10 great-grandchildren. As the family was growing up
they lived at 420 N. Second Street, in Alhambra. When the children were older,
Fran returned to
college, earning her bachelor's degree in Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles in 1971.
She started work on her masters degree, but the statistics course was a sticking point. She returned to
a major in music. She was the only one of her siblings to go through college. She abandoned her
studies when she and Don began to build a home at Mt. Baldy.
In 1980, Fran and Don "retired" to the home they had built on their Mt. Baldy property. Over the years,
Fran canned or froze many a pear, apple, and peach. She was also proficient in needlepoint, and grew
many varieties of Iris at Mt. Baldy, as seen at right. She tried to walk daily, weather permitting, and enjoyed working
jigsaw puzzles. She was a member of P.E.O. for about 45 years. Don died 3 Mar 1996.
In Sep 2004, she retired from the mountains, moving into
a condo on a golf course in Upland. In Dec 2004 the Olson family Christmas was celebrated there.
However, Fran eventually returned to Mt. Baldy for a short time, renting a stone cabin on Bear Drive.
Finally, Fran retired from the mountains, to a one bedroom apartment in Claremont. In Nov 2012, she
underwent open-heart surgery to replace her aortic valve. Complications followed, and she died 6 Jan 2013 in
Pomona Valley Hospital, Pomona, California. She was buried next to her husband in
Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, California on 12 Jan 2013. A Celebration of Life service was held
13 Jan 2013 at the Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont, California. |
Time of Birth} |
Time of Death} |
Fraternal/Social} P.E.O. |
Baptism Date} |
Place} Perth Amboy, New Jersey |
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Confirm. Date} |
Photos} Frances in 2007 |
Immigr'n Date} N/A |
Port} N/A |
Education: Grade} High school
or Top 2 Degrees} Bachelor of Science |
Military: Service}
for the State of} |
Health Condition} Aortic stenosis
Cause of Death} |
Last Updated
by} Karen Hancock |
Date Updated} 13 Sep 2015
Date Created} 3 Jan 2013 |
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Copyright © 2014 - 2015 by Karen L. Hancock. All Rights Reserved. |