Frances Henriette "Fran" Mahoney, age 87 of Corsica, SD, and formerly of Kimball, SD, passed away Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society – Corsica.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Saturday, May 1, 2021 at St. Margaret Catholic Church, Kimball, SD, with Rev. Cathal Gallagher (Armour) officiating. Burial will be in the St. Margaret Catholic Cemetery followed by a luncheon and fellowship.

Visitations will begin at 5 p.m. Friday, April 30, 2021 at St. Margaret's with a 7 p.m. Rosary and Prayer Service, followed by refreshments and fellowship.

View Folder Here

Fran was born October 9, 1933, to Henry Florenz Welchert and Mary Henrietta Marx, on a farm near Montrose, South Dakota. The sixth child of thirteen children, Fran was born at home, as were her siblings.

She attended elementary school in the Hanson County school system. When she was about to enter high school, Mother asked Fran if she would stay home 1 year to help after the birth of Annie, the youngest sibling. In exchange, Gramma Mary promised Fran that she could attend Catholic High School at Mt. Marty, Yankton, SD. Fran went on to attend Mt. Marty for 1 year, but the next year her parents had a house fire and could no longer afford the tuition.  Gramma Mary asked Fran if she would be content with St. Agatha in Howard instead.  Fran agreed and later decided she liked St. Agatha much better because Mt. Marty was a large, all-girl high school while St. Agatha was more fun and had BOYS!

Fran graduated high school in 1952 and earned a full-ride scholarship to the Presentation Sisters Nursing Program at St. Joseph's Hospital, Mitchell, SD, (known as a "3-year Diploma" RN). Fran graduated in 1955 as a Registered Nurse.

As per the scholarship agreement, Fran spent her first year at St. Joseph's as a surgical nurse, most notably working for the Delaneys (including "Sr." Delaney), who were a well-known medical family at the time.

On June 13, 1956, at Holy Family Church, Mitchell, SD, she married Patrick James Mahoney, a farmer living in the rural Kimball area.  She worked at Platte Community Hospital for 10 years (1957-1967), starting as a floor nurse, then Director of Nursing for 1 ½ yrs (~1958-59), and eventually as Dr. Kalda's clinic nurse and parttime after she started having children.

Fran left her nursing career for a time to be a farmwife and homemaker as she and Pat raised their 6 children: John (Joan) Mahoney of Sioux Falls, SD, Monica (Roger) Mahoney-Schroeder of Valley Springs, SD, Peggy Mahoney, Rita (Steve) Pazour of rural Pukwana, SD, Jim (Jari) Mahoney of Parkston, and Kelly (Cheryl) Mahoney of Starbuck, MN.

Fran did continue to "Special" occasionally at Community Bailey Hospital, Chamberlain, SD (in the days before Intensive Care Units, a "special" nurse was called for critical patients and took care of them exclusively). She stopped doing this as her family grew.

Patrick passed away on October 4, 1984. Then July 1985, Fran and the 3 teenagers (Rita, Jim, Kelly), moved from the farm into the "grey house on the corner" in Kimball, where Fran finished raising them as a single parent and working mother.  Her first job outside the home in over 15 years was working for Woodraska's Hardware. This job gave her the confidence needed to start the Registered Nurse re-certification process.  As she was just finishing, the ONLY nursing job in Kimball, SD, happened to open.  In 1989, once again, she was "Nurse Fran", this time as the clinic nurse for Drs. Jones and Bieberly.  She worked at the Kimball Clinic for 17 years, retiring in 2006 at the age of 72.

In 1987, she was asked to run for the Kimball School Board and served for 6 years where she was notorious for blunt honesty and a no-nonsense attitude.

After Kelly left for college, it was decided Fran needed a dog.  Fran got her beloved Cinder, and they were quite the "pair about town" until Cinder died in 2008 at the age of 16.

In her retirement years, Fran was able to live independently in her home because of the amazing dedication of the Kimball community (which has assisted many elderlies over the years): groceries delivered to the door, meals on wheels, general deliveries such as restaurants and hardware store, mail on the doorstep, and wonderful neighbors who gladly checked in daily. But the most unique act of service came from her hairdresser and treasured friend, Lexie Heath, who picked Fran up for her weekly hair appointment and drove her back home.  On Feb 1, 2018, Fran was permanently moved to the Good Samaritan Society – Corsica and was content there for 3 extremely blessed years.

Fran loved bowling and was a member of the Lenz Agency team for many years. She was also a big supporter of all high school sports, enthusiastically following local teams and those of her grandchildren (when moved to Corsica – she followed their school as well).  She enjoyed old movies and TV shows, reading, extremely difficult puzzles, attending household auctions where she collected decorative brass, copper, angels and pretty glass, and playing all types of cards. But her favorite thing was visiting with her numerous friends and spending time with the "Bridge-Club Ladies". She was an advocate for military service and higher education.  She encouraged her kids to serve their country and attend college; as a result, all 6 children are veterans who achieved college degrees.

Fran is survived by her 6 children; 18 grandchildren: Jackie, Joe, Josh (Tamsen) Mahoney; Patrick, Cassie (Josh McConniel), Emilie, Riley Schroeder; Reed (Mary), Brett, Erin, Quinn Pazour; Logan, Rachel, Noah Mahoney; Caleb, Micah, Josiah, Trinity Mahoney; 1 great-grandchild, Owen Mahoney (Josh & Tamsen); and two sisters, Theresa (Duane) Fowler of Marquette Michigan and Mary Welchert of Sioux Falls, SD.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Patrick Mahoney; triplet great-grandchildren: Greyson John, Bryar James, and Kinsley Rose McConniel; her parents; six brothers: Ted, Tom, Ray, Charlie, Dave, Dan; and four sisters: Virginia Paradeis, Gertrude VanPelt, Rose Welchert, and Anna Stratton.

In lieu of flowers or memorials, the family requests that you please consider making donations to Good Samaritan Society – Corsica, 455 N Dakota Ave., Corsica, SD  57328.