CAUDLE-RUTLEDGE FUNERAL HOME
Fran Chelf passed peacefully from this life to her eternal home on Sunday morning, March 24, 2024. Tennie Frances (McLeod) Chelf was born on July 15, 1927. She was the youngest of eight children born to J.S. and Bertie (Moore) McLeod. She was raised in a strong Christian family in the Liberty Hill Community of Houston County, Texas. Tennie Frances attended the Liberty Hill School and graduated from Glover High School in 1942. She first worked in Crockett for the TAMU system and Houston County. Later she would move to Tyler to find better employment and educational opportunities. By all accounts she was a country girl who loved life in the big city of Tyler. In Tyler she met and dated Jack Chelf. Jack fell in love with Fran. Fran came along a little slower. After the third proposal Fran said yes. Jack and Fran were married on August 1, 1950. Their rock-solid marriage would endure joyfully for 67 years until Jack's death. During the early months of their marriage Jack and Fran were touched by the ministry of the Queen Street Baptist Church of Tyler and the ministry of pastor and wife, Bro. Kirby and Johnnie McGuire. During these days Fran came to know with certainty the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. Fran's life was changed forever. She would grow spiritually and become a gifted student and teacher of the Bible. God's grace combined with Frans's natural empathy and love for people would touch hundreds of lives over the next seventy years. Jack and Fran would serve the Lord faithfully together during those years in the Queen Street Baptist Church and, after moving to New Harmony, in the Mt. Sylvan Baptist Church of Lindale. Fran was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Jack, and her six brothers and one sister. She is survived by her three children: Jack Jr. and wife LeAnne of Grapeland, Texas. Mark and wife Becky of Tyler. Cindy Willis of Tyler. She is also survived by three grandchildren: Doug Willis and wife Britni of Tyler. Breann Wilson of Tyler and Gregory Chelf and wife Tkeyah of Denver, Colorado. She is also survived by eleven loved great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. No family has ever been blessed with a better wife and mom than Fran Chelf. We rejoice in her life lived here and her life eternal in that home prepared for her by the Lord Jesus. The Chelf family will observe a private burial service at the New Harmony Cemetery. A Celebration of Life service, with all friends and family invited, will be held for Fran Chelf at the Mt. Sylvan Baptist Church in late April. Fran's family extends a heart-felt thank you to the Wesley House of Lindale staff and to Kindful Health for the loving care Fran received during her last months and days here with us. Gifts to honor Fran Chelf's life and memory may be sent to the building fund of the Mt. Sylvan Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas.
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