Bobbie “Barbara” Marie Caton French, 97, of the Hardeman community, died Saturday, November 27, at The Living Center in Marshall.
Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, December 3, at Campbell-Lewis Chapel in Marshall with William W. Harlow officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials are suggested to the memory care unit at The Living Center. An online guestbook is available at www.campbell-lewis.com
Born March 8, 1924, in Marshall, MO, she was the daughter of the late William Edgar Caton and Sarah Harriett Hess Caton. She lived in Saline County her entire life and was a 1942 graduate of Marshall High School. Bobbie obtained her secretarial certification from Mercy Academy and then worked for the Missouri Valley Store and the Marshall Democrat News where she received news for military members during World War II.
On August 15, 1943, she married Loyd Brown “Brownie” French and he preceded her in death after nearly 70 years of marriage on July 13, 2013. They met while he was playing in a local dance band that she attended and they enjoyed dancing for years, including a special dance at their granddaughter’s wedding.
They made their home in the Hardeman community where she was a homemaker, 4-H Club leader, and an active member of the Hardeman Church. She later returned to working and worked at the Saline County Extension Services and the Saline County Magistrate and Probate Courts until her retirement in 1986.
Bobbie was a member of First Christian Church in Marshall and was active in the C.F.W. where she served as president twice. She enjoyed quilting, attending antique shows and antique shopping with Brownie and friends.
Survivors include three children: Sarah French Kennedy, Susan French Gates (Geoff), and Loyd B. French Jr.; two grandchildren, Kristen Rhorer (Mike) and Matthew Gates; three great grandchildren: Claire, Reid and Logan Rhorer; and one sister, Joyce J. Caton.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; one brother, William “Bill” Caton and his wife, Winona; a sister in infancy, Judith Ann Caton; and an “honorary” brother-in-law, Arthur Wayne “Sadie” Hawkins.