FRANCES HART

Frances “Fran” Ruth Hart passed away on March 19, 2024 at Sharehaven in Oshkosh, WI, after an arduous journey through Alzheimer's disease. She was born April 27, 1938 to Alice Maynard Eggert and Francis Eggert in Appleton, WI, the oldest of 11 children. 

Fran married Roydon “Roy” Hart on April 27, 1957 on her 19th birthday, and shortly after, they bought their first home on Tyler Street in Neenah, WI. Their children Laura, Lynne, and Alec were born in 1958, 1960, and 1962 respectively. They grew up on Tyler and Grove Street until moving to Roy's family farm just outside of Neenah in 1978.

Fran was a member of the Wisconsin Homemakers' Association, a regular attendee of College Days for Women at UW-Madison, and volunteered with multiple groups, including the Girl Scouts, the Neenah Historical Society, the Appleton Performing Arts Center, Volunteers in Mission, the League of Women Voters, and the Appalachian Service Project through the First United Methodist Church in Neenah.  Fran and Roy were active members of the FUMC and involved with many groups within the church, participating in thirty mission trips through the years. Fran was a strong advocate for literacy in youth and volunteered with Winnebago County Head Start BookWorms for many years. Fran was a poll worker at the Town of Clayton and never missed an election if she could help it. 

Fran was a voracious reader and contributed many letters to the editor of the Post-Crescent over the years. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, word searches, and poetry, committing many verses to memory, with Robert Frost among her favorites. 

Fran had never left Wisconsin when she got married but ended up traveling to every continent except Antarctica. She was a world traveler and loved to share her stories about all her adventures. Some of her favorite trips were traveling to Italy, visiting South America, and hot air ballooning in New Mexico. She visited every state in the U.S., some multiple times, but she was always happy to return to Wisconsin.

Fran was independent, kind, strong, creative, inclusive, and clever. She enjoyed biking, hiking, road tripping, and camping in the warm months and cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the cold. She always said that “Wisconsin has nine months of winter and three months of tough sledding.” She loved to spend time at the cabin on Long Lake, as well as the Rushes in Door County. For years, she organized weekly family dinners at the farm which will be fondly remembered by all. There was always a place at her table for anyone who wanted to join. Fran was supportive of her grandkids' various endeavors and never missed a basketball game, softball game, track meet, horse show, swim meet, concert or play that her grandkids or great-grandkids were in.

Fran is survived by her husband of 67 years, Roydon, daughter Laura (Mike) Robillard, daughter Lynne Hart, and son Alec (Ellie) Hart, as well as grandchildren Hannah (Kevin) Rowe (great-grandchildren: Hailey, Audrina, and Cullen); Graham (Allie) Robillard (Rosalie); Drew (Amy) Knoll-Owen (Isaac and Adalynn); Piper (Nathan) Simington; Ted Hart (Amanda Kinney).

Fran is also survived by siblings Patricia St. Louis, Judy Gill, Suzanne Eggert, Jennifer Markham, and Randy Eggert. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Jim, Rick, Steve, Philip, and Jeff Eggert.

We would like to thank the staff at Sharehaven in Oshkosh and Generations hospice for their compassionate care throughout Fran's last years. 

The funeral service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on April 13, 2024 at the First United Methodist Church, 108 W Doty Avenue, Neenah. Visitation will be held at church from 9:00 A.M. until the hour of service.

Fran always said “Don't give me flowers at my funeral. Give me flowers when I'm alive,” so Roy always made sure she had plenty of flowers in their many years together. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Disease Research Foundation  https://curealz.org/