Mary Frances “Frankie” Wilkinson, 80, of Elkland, Missouri. passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 13, 2018, in her home after an extended period of illness. Born on September 19, 1938, in Polk County, Missouri, to Francis Jerome and Alice Mae (Whitman) Griffitts, she worked at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City after high school before returning to the Ozarks to attend Drury University. She was a member of High Street Baptist Church where she was active in the children's Sunday school ministry and AWANA program. A retired school teacher from Fair Grove Schools, her favorite grade to teach was 6th grade where the old adage fits; if you like what you do, you never work a day in your life. She loved everything about living in the country except snakes; from feeding bottle calves to mowing the lawn to sharing a porch swing with cats to taking in stray dogs. An avid gardener, she enjoyed making preserves and eating cherry tomatoes straight from the vine. Her pecan pie, appreciated at every 4th of July family picnic and gathering of extended family, is sure to be missed. Having visited all 50 states, she loved to travel both here and abroad. Highlights included visiting the Holy Land, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, the UK, all of Scandinavia and Italy. She was a wonderful wife, mother, neighbor, teacher, sister, and friend.

Frankie was preceded in death by her parents, and a sister, Martha Brown. She is survived by her husband, Andy Wilkinson, her daughter: Andrea Wilkinson and her wife Eva Cordery and their children, Eleanor and Lucy, her step-daughter: Kelly Stremel and her husband Kurt Stremel and their children Sam, Maggie, and Charlie, her two sisters: Ruth Bone and Helen Shackelford and her brother: Beecher Griffitts.

Graveside services will be at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 17, 2018, in Brighton Cemetery, Brighton, Missouri.

Visitation will be Tuesday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Greenlawn Funeral Home North, Springfield, Missouri.