Obituary: Pratt, Frances Ann
Age 87
Our beautiful and sweet Frances left us peacefully on Tuesday, July 22nd with her loving family by her side.
Frances was born on October 31, 1926 in Spokane to the late Marie DeSmeth DeLaney and Louis DeLaney.
Her Grandfather and “Papa”, Eugene DeSmeth, also played a very important role in her life.
Frances was off and running when she became the first girl to win the title of “Baby Spokane” in 1928 and she never looked back.
She attended Holy Names Grade School, Holy Names Academy and studied art at Holy Names College.
A gifted artist and seamstress, she exhibited an amazing talent for portraits, sketching and calligraphy.
Her artwork graced the pages and cover of her senior yearbook.
Frances met her match and the love of her life, Dick Pratt of Santa Monica, CA, at Hayden Lake in the summer of 1946.
It was love at first sight.
They were married on Valentines Day the following year at St. Aloysius Church in Spokane.
Thus began an exciting adventure that lasted nearly 40 years until Dick’s too early passing in 1986.
The Pratt Furniture Company in Spokane was owned and operated by Frances and Dick for over 30 years.
It was a great business and home to some of the wittiest and most creative advertising of its time.
They were also members of the Spokane Country Club, the Spokane Club, Manito Golf and Country Club and Hayden Lake Country Club.
Frances and Dick built their great family home in 1953 where they raised five children.
At home, you could always count on something definitely out of the ordinary and typically a whole lot of fun.
Frances was a woman of great style and elegance, and her design ability was showcased in her beautiful home and gardens which was the scene of many legendary pool parties.
She was a gracious and fun hostess and loved to entertain, dance and play music.
Frances especially loved decorating for the holidays and making them special.
Most likely because she was born on Halloween…which made for some wicked teasing over the years!
With great fundraising and planning skills, Frances was involved in a number of civic and charitable causes.
She served as President for both St. Anne’s Children’s Home and the Sacred Heart Altar Society.
She was also involved with Holy Names Academy, Gonzaga Prep, Wampum and The Champagne Ball to name just a few.
An avid sports fan, Frances could always provide the latest stats.
She and Dick were proud WSU Cougar boosters and loved to attend their football and basketball games.
Frances especially loved her Gonzaga Basketball and would marvel at the recruiting capability of, “that cute Mark Few”.
We know that she will be cheering them on next season with her great friend, Father Tony Lehmann, by her side.
Frances also enjoyed playing Mah Jongg and had a standing game every Wednesday with three of her best friends.
This group endured for more than 25 years.
She also taught Mah Jongg at Auntie’s Bookstore in the early 1990’s.
She was an excellent figure skater and swimmer and retained her love of swimming for her entire life.
With a passion for horse racing, Frances and Dick were prominent owners and breeders for over 35 years.
They were members of the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association and they particularly loved Playfair.
We won’t go so far as to say that some of their kids learned their fractions by reading the Daily Racing Form - but the odds are fairly good.
Blessed with a great sense of humor, Frances could hold her own with her quick-witted husband, Dick…which is saying something!
The two of them together were larger than life.
Frances was often used as a set-up for one of Dick’s infamous one-liners as MC of the Spokane Sports Awards Banquet.
A role she relished and no one in the room enjoyed it as much as her.
Her most cherished role was that of Gramma Franny …and she was great at it.
She loved Meghan and Joe and they adored her.
She taught them how to play gin rummy and Chinese checkers, sing Broadway songs, read the sports pages and, when they became of legal age, had a full understanding of the fine art of making the perfect bourbon and Pepsi.
Frances was always ready with a great story that typically revolved around wonderful times and memories with her family and friends.
She would often recall trips to one of her favorite places, The Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach.
If you were able to share in some of her stories, you knew you were in good standing - especially if you got one of her feisty winks and smiles.
We typically had to reassure the recipient of her stories that yes, indeed, those things really happened!
Frances was a force of nature and was blessed with an exceptional life.
She was extremely strong and her Catholic faith was very important to her as was her devotion to St. Jude.
We loved her dearly and she loved us and we were privileged to call her Mom and Gramma.
We will miss her so much but find solace in the fact that she was blessed with amazing grace; she always knew, the best is yet to come.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Marie DeSmeth DeLaney, her husband, Richard C. Pratt and her son, Richard E. Pratt.
She is survived by her four daughters: Susan Mechals (Greg) of Spokane, Kathryn Dillon (Phil) of Vancouver WA, Condie Pratt of Spokane and Carolyn Urie (Jeff) of Spokane.
She is also survived by her two grandchildren: Dr. Meghan Dillon, Milwaukee, WI and Joseph Dillon, Seattle.
Frances’ family would like to extend their thanks to the staff at St Joseph’s Care Center and a special thanks to Father Vic Blazovich for his never-ending friendship and spiritual support of our family through the most difficult of circumstances.
As with everything in her life, Frances did it her way….and will most likely continue to do so.
No doubt, her corner table has been reserved at the big turf club in the sky and somewhere her 3-1, 7-5, 8-6 numbers are hitting big.
As per her request, Frances was celebrated with a private family mass at Sacred Heart Church on July 29, 2014.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Monastery of St Clare, 4419 N. Hawthorne St. Spokane, WA 99205