Funeral services for Frances Ellen Howell, 83, will be held on Friday, January 23, at 10:00 a.m., at Hurst’s Fielder-Baker Funeral Home. Interment will follow at I.O.O.F. Cemetery.
Mrs. Howell died on January 18, 2026. She was born on March 25, 1942, to Grover “Joe Pete” Stuart and Flossie (Wagley) Stuart in Emory.
In 1959, she married George Thomas Plunk and they moved to Garland and had two children. She and Milton “Ray” Howell were married on March 13, 1970, in Durant, Oklahoma and they had two children. They made their home in Garland before moving to the Farmersville area in 1989 where Ray was originally from. She was a seamstress and handled many of the alterations for Austins Cleaners and many people in the Farmersville area. Aside from sewing, Frances loved gardening, planting vegetables and growing flowers. She was a huge Texas Rangers fan.
Mrs. Howell is survived by children, Tommy Howell and wife Charlene, Linda Bolen and husband William “Bill”, Sherri Plunk, Sherry Davis and husband Johnie, and like-a-daughter, Joanne Vaillancourt; 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren; sister, JoAnn Turman; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Milton “Ray” Howell; and her parents.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 22, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., at Hurst’s Fielder-Baker Funeral Home.