Obituary of Grace Wilson Franks

Grace Wilson Franks, Los Altos resident, our beloved mother and grandmother, left us peacefully on July 16, 2015 just a few weeks short of her 92nd birthday. She was born to Ross and Florence (Cruzan) Wilson in rural Tulare, California on September 17, 1923. During WWII, while an early employee of the Social Security Board, she met and married handsome soldier, Ralph, who spirited her away to settle near engineering mecca, Stanford University, where she worked for the admissions office. Grace nurtured her family during the post-war birth of Silicon Valley, as her husband afforded them front row seats in the aerospace industry with long family stays in places like Edwards Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral as he was part of the creation of NASA from NACA and worked at Lockheed Missiles and Space. Grace, with her limitless energy, went into the real estate business, from which she retired in 1984. She was predeceased by Ralph far too soon in 1984, and is survived by daughters Barbara (Bill) Ralston, Patricia (David) Cooper, and Victoria (Beck) Devenyns. Her grandchildren Nick (Julia) Ralston, Alec Ralston, Drew (Andrea) Cooper, Stephanie (Cody) Sinnott, Jessica Devenyns and Michael Devenyns miss her dearly. Her great-grandchildren, Kylee Hayden Sinnott, and William George Ralston, provided a new source of wonder to her. By her request, private services were held at Spangler Mortuaries on July 20. Her family is most grateful for the healing care that she received from the Cardiology and Palliative Care teams at Stanford Health Care.




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