Photo from the class of '56, Thanks
Irene Froman LaFrenz
Febuary 12, 2006
Irene Froman LaFrenz, 102, died at Hawthorne Inn in Danville,
IL, on Thursday, February 9, 2006. Visitation will be at 10 a.m., and
funeral service at 11 a.m., on Tuesday, February 14, in Tutt Chapel,
at Second Baptist Church in Liberty, MO. Dr. Stephen Graham of Second
Baptist Church will officiate. Private burial will be at New Hope
Cemetery in Liberty. Irene Froman was born on March 19, 1903, in a
farmhouse near Liberty, the daughter of Marshall Froman and Martha
Bell Froman. She was one of the first female graduates of William
Jewell College, then taught math for nearly 30 years at Liberty High
School. She was married for nearly 60 years to Daniel Vern LaFrenz,
graduate of and professor of math at William Jewell. They had one
daughter, Martha (Robert) Kay of Danville; two granddaughters, Nancy
(Don) York of Louisville, KY, and Sara Youhas of Oakwood; and six
greatgrandchildren. Irene LaFrenz was a member of the Fidelis Class
at Second Baptist Church in Liberty, MO. Also she belonged to the
Fortnightly Club, American Association of University Women, Delta
Kappa Gamma, and Daughters of the American Revolution. She loved her
family, her church, her garden, good books and the TV show Jeopardy.
She was famous at Second Baptist Church for her raspberry pies. In
lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Second Baptist Church, 309
E. Franklin, Liberty, MO. (Arr. Church-Archer-Pasley, 816781-2000)
Published in the Kansas City Star on 2/12/2006.
Comments from the Class of '60
Mrs. LaFrenz and Mrs. Pugh are surely the reasons I became a teacher; I
loved both the old grouches.
Margie, remember the numerous times Mrs. LaFrenz would catch us chewing
gum in her class and make us traipse up to the front of the room to
deposit our gum in the waste basket?
We were all extremely lucky to have had the quality teachers LHS
provided.
Ron Decker (Ronald) to most of you.
And make us stand at the board and solve equations in
front of everyone.
And the "work problems"----
She was one of my favorites
Lee Capps
She was my favorite teacher. I had her all four year that I was at Liberty High. I almost became a math teacher because of her. I still love and use math a lot because of her.
Peggy Huber
They were both two of our favorites. Demark stabbed me with her pencil several times in her class...still have the pencil lead in my leg...as a permanent reminder....will be missed.
John Dowd (J.B.)
I plan to be at the service tomorrow. I told Lois the other day that
on Thursday and Friday as I substituted in a high school math class
that I thought of her often. Especially about the time she told my
mother that, "Alan is a good boy. He just needs to apply himself."
that got me off the hook for my mediocre grades for awhile. She was
one of the best. I still can do a quadratic equation. I still don't
know why anyone would use a quadratic equation, but I can solve one.
Alan Welles
I have sure enjoyed reading all the comments about Mrs LaFrenz. Brought back a lot of memories.
My clearest memory of Mrs LaFrenz is when I had my math book covered with a book cover and she thought I was reading a novel. It was the only time she ever called on me in class, I think we were sophmores. My Dad said that was because she expected me to know that stuff since she knew he was a math major in college. I can only remember what Pi equals. 3.14159265358979323846 But I can still figure 10% of almost anything in my head.
Lois Henderson
The service was as nice as any I've been to. It was planned to be held in the small chapel in the church. But just as I guessed from all the internet activity from the Class of '60, the service had to be moved into the sanctuary. Richard Groves was one of the pallbearers. When asked if anyone would like to say a few words, he spoke for all of us. his remarks were well done.
On the inside page of the "In Memoriam" brochure was a poem Ms. Lafrenz had written some time ago. I thought you might like to read it. It's attached.
Also, Lois sent a faster link directly to Ms. LaFrenz's guestbook. Here it is. I urge you to take a minute and send your thoughts. I know how much it meant to me when I read all the messages after my brother died. Here's the link
http://www.legacy.com/kansascity/Guestbook.asp?Page=Guestbook&PersonId=16670804
Hope we don't just get together online or just because of someone's funeral. See you at the reunion?
Alan
Today, I witnessed a sad event,
But really, it was a beautiful event.
Leaves fell from a big tree in our back yard!
A few weeks ago, vibrant with life and color,
They brought joy to all who observed.
Today, they were lifeless and brown.
It was the time of their release from
a lifetime of service in the tree.
They floated down so gently, one by one,
As if guided by magic wings
To some special place in another world
My eyes filled with tears as I watched.
I prayed that when my time of release comes
That I may be guided on wings of love
To a special place in the Heavenly home.
--Irene LaFrenz
I totally agree. It was a very up beat service and I felt good being there. At one time I had thought I wanted to be a math teacher and on the way back to work after the service many thoughts were going through my mind. My first thought was I should have done it and did I let her down by not becoming a math teacher. My next thought was I know why I am not a math teacher, because I could have never been as good as she was.
Peggy
Howdy y'all! It's really good to be in touch with everyone - I hope to see many of you at the reunion in September.
I, too, owe a lot to Mrs. LaFrenz. It was because of her (and only because of her) that I studied math for four years in high school! Although I have occasionally (specifically when we were cruising) found it necessary to apply some of the basic principles I learned in Math classes, I must admit that what I remember about Pi is that it has a crust and is filled with fruit, right?
I also remember Mrs. LaFrenz from the Second Baptist Church where she was quite active in youth programs - and because she and my mother were fellow teachers. My mother had great admiration for Mrs. LaFrenz, and they were very good friends.
I also remember seeing Mrs. LaFrenz at the last LHS reunion I attended. She was looking really great, and we had a wonderful conversation. Lots of memories - however, Ron, I don't remember chewing gum (ever!) in class - I guess I have a selective memory - don't we all? And John Dowd - is that you, J.B.?
Again, it's really great to be in touch with y'all!
Margie Kidd
Web Volunteer
Return to BlueJay's Roost.
Powered by counter.bloke.com
Since Febuary 13, 2006
