Sarah Franks, 98

A woman of unwavering faith, Sarah Frances Franks went to meet her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on February 12, 2026.

Born 98 years ago on November 10, 1927 in McNairy County, Tennessee, Sarah was the one of five children born to William Carl and Beulah Mary (Richards) Wilson. Her early years were spent in several locations in Tennessee, where her family lived in modest accommodations during the years of the Great Depression.

Sarah received her earliest schooling in one-room schoolhouses where students sat at tables, not desks. Her father worked at several jobs, including farming and cobbling. Sarah remembers that during the depression, he would give neighbors sustenance on the promise of repayment that was seldom realized. “We traveled by horse-drawn wagon until dad got a truck,” Sarah remembered.

Faith was inculcated early in Sarah’s family. “We always went to church on Sunday,” she recalled. As she matured in her faith, Sarah became a relentless “prayer warrior,” and interceded with God on behalf of family, friends, and situations that she felt strongly about.

In 1941, the Wilson family moved to Benton Harbor, where jobs were available, particularly in ship building. Sarah began school there in junior high. She remembers being chosen the “pin up girl” for her homeroom, irritating some classmates who felt her undeserving as a newcomer. She went on to graduate from B.H.H.S in 1947. As a teen-ager, Sarah and friends took the 10 cent bus to St. Joseph and Silver Beach. “We always rode the Ferris Wheel. He’d let us ride free a lot of times.” There was always plenty of swimming on those excursions, and dancing at the Shadowland Ballroom.

Following high school, Sarah got a job at the Guernsey Dairy Bar. It was the first restaurant Chicago tourists would pass after disembarking passenger ships. Later, she attended National Beauty College, taking her licensing exam in Lansing.

Sarah met Edward Franks in Benton Harbor while working at the Dairy Bar. They married in 1949, and would have three children, all daughters: Laurel, Sheila and Pamela. The family continued to live in Benton Harbor before moving to Berrien Springs in 1963. “I thought if I ever get those girls through high school it’ll be OK,” Sarah confessed. She worked throughout those years in her home-based beauty shop while Ed did his best to keep teen-aged suitors for his daughters at bay.

In 1975 Sarah moved to Tallahassee, Florida, where she lived for six years. She then relocated to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where Sheila and Pam along with their families lived. While there Sarah attended Rhema Bible Training School, graduating in 1983.

Sarah moved several times subsequently, first to Michigan, then to Virginia and finally back to Michigan. She eventually took residence in Woodbrook Apartments of Three Rivers where she made many friends. She spent her last months at the Fishers Lake home of her daughter and son-in-law Laurel and Rick Cordes.

Sarah led an active life volunteering in church, playing golf, playing board games, dancing, gardening, time with friends, stamp collecting, boating, skiing, and fishing (not her best thing, she confessed). She also enjoyed genealogy and became the family historian, based on extensive research. She also was a faithful volunteer for the Three Rivers Health Auxiliary.

Sarah was a remarkable woman in a number of ways. “Faith was so important to Mom,” Laurel emphasized. ‘Sharing her faith.” She was among the earliest members of Agape Family Church, and has remained a committed member (the church now being Faith Foundations Christian Center).

Perhaps we all have a super power. Sarah’s was being a grandmother and great grandmother. Those youngsters call her Bummom, and absolutely adored her. She remembered everyone’s birthday, and always sent holiday cards to each with cash enclosed.

Sarah easily made many enduring friendships, and was loyal and extremely communicative, keeping in touch by letter and phone. Her friends thought very, very highly of Sarah. Amazingly, she adapted to evolving technology, and was fluent on her iPad and smart phone even at 98.

Sarah’s memory was phenomenal until the very end. “She would remember things about me that I didn’t remember,” her son-in-law Rick often mused.

Sarah will be greatly missed, but never forgotten. She is survived by daughters Laurel (Rick) Cordes, and Pamela (Peter) Sullivan, grandchildren Zachariah (Kelly) Freed, Caleb (Kathleen) Cordes, Olivia (fiancé Wil Hiles) Cordes, Joshua Sullivan, Terah ((David) Victorine, Rachel (Jake) Davis, and Jared (Jessica) Sullivan, step grandchildren Maya Cordes, Casey Cordes, and Chelsea (Jeremy) Frei, along with a bunch of really wonderful great grandchildren. Sarah was preceded in death by her parents, daughter Sheila, sisters Bernice Williams and Mary Ruth Swartz, brothers Ray and Richard Wilson, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, March 14 at the Faith Foundations CC, (56341 Wilbur Road, Three Rivers MI 49093) with a visitation at 10:00 am and the service at 11:00. All are welcome to join the family for a luncheon afterwards at Faith Foundations. Condolences and memories may be expressed to her family at eickhofffuneralhome.com