Frances Mary Ploessl, age 79, passed away peacefully at her home in East Dubuque, IL on February 5, 2025.  While living with Dementia, her strength and spirit, even in the face of such a cruel illness, were truly inspiring. She was surrounded by her family, who stood by her side until the very end.

Family and friends may call from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 9, 2025 at the Miller Funeral Home in East Dubuque, where the parish rosary will be recited at 12:30 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Church in East Dubuque, with Fr. Thomas Srenn officiating. Burial will follow at the East Dubuque Cemetery.

Fran was born on January 13, 1946 in Dubuque, IA, the daughter of Nick and Frances (Horch) Slaats, Jr.

A common theme that started early in Fran Ploessl’s life was resilience. That resilience began the first year of her life in 1946, after her mother, Frances Matilda, passed away, and she was split up from her five siblings, Shirley, Joe, Bob, Diane, and Evie, and father, Nick, while she lived with her aunt, Dolly. Three years later, when her father remarried, the family was reunited. Fran was able to spend the rest of her childhood with her brothers and sisters, along with new additions of Carol, Eddie, and stepmother, Rita.

Fran began her own family in 1964 with the birth of her first child, Lori. In the coming years she had two more children, Donna and Mark. As a mother, Fran was convinced that her children’s futures’ lay in education. As a young mother, Fran would read to all three of her kids and would trade buying them candy in favor of Little Golden Books from whatever store they went to.

Fran’s love for children was clear. While her kids were in school, she began working as a Lunch Lady at East Dubuque Public School, where she was known as the Cookie Lady for giving kids extra cookies. She worked in the lunchroom for 38 years, building strong connections with students every day. Years after she retired, kids would continue to come up to her in public, letting her know that they missed her in the cafeteria, and that lunch was not the same without her.

As a parent, aunt, and friend, Fran always put others before herself. Whether that came from sitting in less than ideal weather while watching Lori cheerlead, driving all around the tristate area to see Donna play in one of her several sports, taking Mark to a karate tournament, babysitting nieces and nephews, or just cooking a meal for someone who needed it, you could count on Fran.  She was the perpetual rock that was always there when someone needed her, and never once ever considered asking for anything in return.

Fran’s caring and loving ways set her up perfectly for her favorite role in life, which was being a grandma. She had four grandchildren: Luke, Tori, Cole, and Joey. With all four of them, she paid special attention to their interests, becoming a quasi-expert in whatever they were into at the time, making spending time with Grandma even more fun. The love she showed the four of them was immeasurable and cannot be adequately described.

When she was not putting a smile on other people’s faces, Fran was an avid crafter. Her love for creativity and art took the form in several projects, ranging from basketry, crochet, weaving, coloring, beading, knitting, and many more. She would then give these crafts to others. To put it lightly, there are most likely several hundred Fran Ploessl creations floating around the tristate area, furthering her legacy, and showing what kind of person, she was.

Fran touched the lives of everyone she met and constantly worked to make the world a better place. Although she will be dearly missed, her legacy of kindness will live on, and continue making people smile.

She is survived by her daughters, Lori (Joe) Pickel of Arlington, VA, and Donna of Montevallo, AL, her son, Mark (Lisa) of Dubuque, IA; four grandchildren; sister, Evie (Ben) Brady: and brother, Bob (Linda) Slaats. She is also survived by several nieces, nephews, and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Shirley Slaats, Diane (Jack) Mellott, Carol (Don) Larson, her brothers, Joe and Eddie (Kathy) Slaats and good friend Glenn Hockman.

The family would like to thank Hospice of Dubuque for their care of Fran and her family.  In lieu of flowers please consider donating at Hospice of Dubuque serving Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.millerfhed.com©