Frances Faye (Bavis) Nauth

Frances Faye (Bavis) Nauth was born at Methodist Hospital in Peoria, Ill., on Oct 30, 1936. Her parents were Charles Hammell Bavis, and Emma Margaret Silldorff. Charles left the family farm in Conroy, Iowa, to work molding iron at Peoria Malleable. Margaret, of Benson, Ill., was a nurse at Methodist when the two met.

Fran went to high school at Woodruff, where she was 1954 class valedictorian, and active in a multitude of extracurricular activities, acting in Arsenic and Old Lace, and spinning records at a local radio station. Upon graduation, she attended nursing school at Methodist, which was at the center of so much that happened in her life. Upon graduation, her first job was in a doctor’s office.

In 1957, she married David A. Nauth, a Peoria native and Bradley graduate. After working a summer at the Pabst Brewery in Peoria Heights, David got on at the fast-growing Caterpillar tractor company as a design engineer. The couple had their first child on Wilcox Avenue in 1961. Dave was transferred to the new Decatur plant in about 1965, and the family bought a home on Greenridge Drive which they owned until 2011. David died at home in 2004 of prostate cancer, having been cared for by Fran, family and caregivers.

Fran was the epitome of a caregiver all of her life, someone who showed incredible kindness and empathy to all she came into contact with, usually putting her own needs second. The number of times she has been described as the “nicest person I’ve met” are too many to count. She also had an understated but wicked sense of humor.

In Decatur, she began a new job at Decatur Memorial Hospital in 1977, working in labor and delivery where she loved “seeing life begin.” She absorbed the adrenaline and fast pace of child birth, and the fresh energy of the newborns. Having been raised by a nurse, and around nurses most of her life, she held herself to a high standard, was respected by her peers, and made many wonderful friends of her colleagues. If she had been born a few decades later, she said she might have been a doctor.

She was oriented toward community service and used her talents to help her fellow citizens. She taught Lamaze birthing classes to pregnant couples for many years. She volunteered at various times for Planned Parenthood, and the DOVE social service agency. She helped build a log cabin and community of friends in the Upper Peninsula.

Her family was active at First Presbyterian church, where they met many of their most treasured friends, including the dynamic couple of Dan and Shirley Moore. Fran and Dave joined the church’s “Salt and Pepper Club”, and sent their boys to an inner-city laboratory school. She loved women’s basketball, and traveled to follow her favorite teams, LSU and the Chicago Sky.

Fran moved to Oak Park, Ill., in 2011 to be near her son Zachary, and his wife Ileana Gómez. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2020 during the Covid pandemic. After moving out of her apartment, she lived with her middle son, Daniel, and his wife, Paige (Powers), in their Washburn, Ill., home for over a year. As the disease progressed, she moved into assisted living at Snyder Village in Metamora, Ill., transitioning to memory care after about two years, then into the health center for the final nine months.

She passed from this world on Tuesday, March 17, surrounded by family, including her youngest son Aaron Nauth, and his wife, Jackie Case, of Talent, Oregon.

The Nauth family is incredibly grateful for the outstanding care provided by the non-profit Snyder Village and all of its treasured employees, from top to bottom. Donations can be made to the Patient In Need Fund through the facility’s website at SnyderVillage.com. Donations can also be made to Fran’s former employer, Hephzibah Children’s Association in Oak Park, where she helped care for the children there, and maintained files. Go to https://www.hephzibahhome.org/donate/

Fran is survived by her three sons, grandchildren Connor Nauth, Hannah Nauth and her husband Colin Kenyon of Denver, Co., Aaron’s son, Sunny McCloud of Oregon, and nieces Lisa Delano, Debbi Azpuru, and Cristin (Winegard) Hopkins. A sister, Carolyn (Bavis) Nerzig, preceded her in death.

Fran will be interred at Swan Lake Memorial Gardens. Plans for a celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

DONATIONS:

Snyder Village Residents in Need Fund, 1200 East Partridge Street, Metamora, IL 61548 or https://www.snydervillage.com

Hephzibah Children's Association, 1144 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301 or https://www.hephzibahhome.org/donate/