Frances Octavia McLachlin Glidden, 91, a former Baker City resident, died May 6, 2008, at River Pines, Calif.
There will be a private graveside service at Cherokee Memorial Park.
Frances was born on May 23, 1916, at Memphis, Tenn.
She spent her early years living in parts of Texas and later in New Mexico, where her father was engineer and superintendent of the Otis Gin and Warehouse Co., a cotton-processing plant. Her mother was an accomplished artist and pianist.
Frances attended Texas Tech College at Lubbock, Texas. She majored in business administration and minored in history, a lifelong pursuit that culminated in the writing of her own history, a five-volume memoir called Castles and Cable Cars.
Frances married Cecil Clark Glidden in 1938. Clark was general manager of branch offices for the General Adjustment Bureau for more than 30 years, necessitating moves to Hobbs, N.M.; Colorado Springs and Sterling, Colo.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and the Los Angeles and Napa Valley areas of California.
Frances worked with her husband in the Hobbs, N.M., office. After their three children were grown, Frances and Clark moved to northern California and settled on a ranch near Red Bluff, Calif. Prior to that, they had ranches in Colorado, central California, and Eastern Oregon, along with corn and soybean property in Iowa.
Frances was a longtime member of Beta Sigma Phi and a lifetime giver of loving support. Her gentle spirit radiated to all those in her presence, her family said.
In later years, Frances and Clark lived at Lodi, Calif., where Frances enjoyed playing bridge, traveling (nearly worldwide), gardening, researching history, and composing her autobiography on her computer.
Clark died in January of 1999. Most recently, Frances lived on 12 acres in the foothills of Amador County, Calif., with her daughter, Shirley, and son-in-law Hal.
She lived in Baker City in 1990-91 with her daughter, Barbara, and Barbara’s husband, Fred Warner Sr.
Other survivors include her son, Ralph, and his wife, Sue, who split their time between homes at Scottsdale, Ariz., and Red Lodge, Mont.; a brother, Marion McLachlin, who lives near Red Bluff, Calif.; five grandchildren, Ken and Clark Yokom, Jason and Eric Jones and Kari Shankle Lansdon; and eight great-grandchildren, Madison, Sarah, Jace, Janelle, Jacqueline, Jared, Nicholaus, and Brielle.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 9, 2008
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor