Ruby Kimball Francis

Our mom, Ruby Kimball Francis, age 93, passed away peacefully on July 31, 2026, with her family nearby. She resided in Temple, Texas, but is fondly remembered as a longtime member of the Chubbuck and Pocatello, Idaho community. She was born on December 20, 1932, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Ruby Griffiths and Vernon Alma Kimball. Ruby grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and Independence & Kansas City, Missouri.

After returning to Salt Lake City at the age of twelve, she spied 14-year-old Dale Visick Francis for the first time while attending a church service. When she returned home, she told her mother that she had just met the man she would marry. And so she did on February 8, 1952, in the Salt Lake City Temple.

She attended South High School in Salt Lake City and graduated at the age of sixteen. She fondly remembered her love singing in the school choir and performing in stage productions. By age seventeen, she was employed as an assistant manager and window dresser at a dress shop in SLC. Years later, many knew Ruby as the manager of several small businesses in Pocatello, especially The Pocatello Copycat and Kinkos. Her principles of hard work and diligence became a foundation for the legacy she left her family. In fact, we learned these qualities doubly as both her children and her employees. We knew her as both “Mom” and “Boss”, which has blessed us for our whole lives.

Ruby was passionate about beauty in life. She was a devoted classical-music enthusiast. She treasured art and literature. She loved to sew, knit, crochet, quilt, and cook. After retirement, she honed the tatting skills she learned from her mother and the woodturning skills she learned from Dale to produce many cherished pieces of art. She delighted in knowing the names and lives of her ancestors in Wales, England, and Scotland. Before computers, she kept extensive paper records and spent evenings each week scanning microfilm and microfiche documents for artifacts of her family and the families of others.

A faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ruby cherished Divine guidance and sought for it every day. Her devotion to her beliefs gave her strength and purpose throughout the seasons of life, and it shaped the way she cared for others and met each day. Ruby and Dale dedicated 2 1⁄2 years of their lives to serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ at the Toronto Ontario Temple in Brampton, Ontario.

Ruby leaves behind the example of a woman who lived with poise, labored faithfully, and poured herself into her family and work with love and intention. She showed that a life can be made beautiful and extraordinary through curiosity, constancy, kindness, and faith.

Ruby Kimball Francis was preceded in death by her husband Dale. She is survived by: her sister Wilma Clayton (Salt Lake City, UT); her children David & Alcidia Francis (Carriere, MS), Sharon Hayes & Gordon Louie (Nehalem, OR), Kevin Francis (Temple, TX), Jackie & Michael Stokes (Pocatello, ID), and Will & Melody Francis (Logan, UT); and by 20 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great-grandchildren - 78 people and counting!

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, August 14, at the Larkin Sunset Gardens mortuary, 1950 E. Dimple Dell Rd., Sandy, UT.