Visitation will be from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at Hoffmann Schneider & Kitchen Funeral Home & Crematory.

The Funeral Service for Frances will be at 10:30 am on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Hoffmann Schneider & Kitchen Funeral Home & Crematory with Pastor Trisha Wheelock officiating. Burial will be at Linwood Cemetery in Dubuque.

Mrs. Kennedy was born February 7th, 1937, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Emery and Donna Philp Sisson. She graduated from Leeds High School in Sioux City, Iowa, attended Wayne State Teachers College and the University of Dubuque, and earned a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

In 1957, she married James Kennedy at the Third Presbyterian Church in Sioux City, Iowa.  Jim and Fran were married for 67 years.

She was employed as an elementary school teacher in Correctionville, Sioux City, and Dubuque, Iowa, including Bryant, Jackson, Hoover and Roosevelt elementary schools.  She received the gold star teaching award and was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.  She taught thousands of children and was known for her enthusiastic championing of children and her elaborate field trips.

She was an author of children’s books and an artist. Her first book, The Pickle Patch Bathtub, was selected by First Lady Christie Vilasack for the Iowa Stories 2000 Foundation and distributed to 45,000 kindergarteners across Iowa.  Her artwork was exhibited in Iowa and Florida.

She was an active member of the community, including the Westminster Presbyterian Church, the Hillcrest Board, the Girl and Boy Scouts, the Carnegie Stout Library, the Dubuque Museum of Art, and the Finley Hospital Sunshine Circle.  She was known for distributing May baskets to neighbors and friends.

Survivors include a daughter and two sons and their spouses: Vicki Kennedy of Temple, Texas; Murray and Kim Kennedy of Westminster, Colorado; and David Kennedy of Boulder, Colorado; nine grandchildren; four great granchildren; and a sister and her husband, Marilyn and Dr. Douglas Wheelock of Sioux City, Iowa.

Her parents and a sister, Janet Walters, preceded her in death.

Memorials may be given to The International FOP Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP).

A photo tribute can be viewed and condolences sent to the family by visiting Frances’s obituary at www.hskfhcares.com.