Frances Smith Nichols

Frances Smith Nichols, 88, passed away in her sleep on June 29, 2023 and with her were lost years of knowledge about practically everybody who ever called Thomas County, Georgia home. Born in Boston, Georgia on April 28, 1935, Frances was the daughter of Theodore and Rosa Lee Smith. Growing up in rural Thomas and Colquitt County in the 1940s, Frances cared deeply for her family, and even as a child acted as a caretaker and doting supervisor for all her siblings – Jack, Margaret, Cecil, and Charlie – and probably any other neighborhood children she felt were acting out of line.
In 1955, she married Morris Nichols, and the two settled in Thomasville, where Morris went to work as an electrician and later pastored several Baptist churches in the area. The next year, she gave birth to couple’s only child, Becky. Although deeply rooted in traditional values of mid-20th Century rural Georgia, Frances was a modern woman and went to work, starting her career with the City of Thomasville on her 22nd birthday. Working for the city’s utilities department in the billing office, she got to know almost everybody in Thomasville. Even years later, her meticulous memory would lead her to frequently begin conversations with “Oh, Becky. You remember so and so. They lived over on such and such street and you used to play with them!” Her encyclopedic knowledge of everybody in Thomasville was only made stronger once Morris became a minister, and the two remained active in several churches in the community.
After retiring, she planned to clean out her closets and take her granddaughter shopping. She never quite got around to those as she quickly discovered what would become her life’s calling – caregiving. She cared for her both her father and her mother for years before their deaths. After her sister Margaret suffered an unfortunate stroke, Frances looked after her and her family as well. Placing others above herself was simply normal, and it wasn’t just the sick and elderly that she cared for, as she and Morris served as mentors for countless young people in Thomasville. Somehow in her spare time, she began baking, and her cakes became famous throughout the county. She was proud to have baked cakes for both of her grandchildren’s weddings, as well as dozens of other family and church members. After her husband, Morris, passed away in 2014, Frances moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Becky and Marshall Kerlin, and lived briefly in Americus and Rome, Georgia before settling into Sun City Center, Florida. Moving around allowed her to not only continue her quest to find the best BBQ, but gave her the opportunity to spend nearly a decade living near her great grandchildren, Addie and Gibson Kerlin, and David Barr.
Frances is preceded in death by her siblings, Jack and Margaret, and her husband, Morris. She is survived by her brothers Charlie and Cecil; her daughter Becky Kerlin and her husband Marshall. She has two grandchildren, Scott Kerlin & his wife Meagan; and Christi Barr and her husband Chris. She has three great-grandchildren, David Barr, Addie Kerlin, and Gibson Kerlin, and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on July 1, 2023 at the chapel of Allen and Allen Funeral Home in Thomasville. Visitation will be at 11 am with a memorial service at 11:30. She will be buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Thomasville alongside her husband Morris. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating at www.gonorthriver.org/give to the building fund of North River Church of Parrish, Florida.