Frances Jean (Fran) Lyman died on December 5th, 2024 in Ann Arbor, MI at the age of 90, after experiencing significantly declining health and serious back pain in the last year. Born in Los Angeles, CA in 1934 to Ammie Jean (Taylor) Lyman and Ritchie Fayette ("Rip") Lyman, Fran spent her first 18 years in Arcadia, California, with the exception of four years in Birmingham, Alabama. Tragically, in 1945, her dad died suddenly, and her mother picked herself up and started a preschool, serving as president of the Nursery School Association of Southern California.
After graduating from Knox College in 1955, Fran attended the University of Michigan and earned an MA in Library Science. She spent a year teaching in a one-room school on Afrograk Island, Alaska - three hours by boat from Kodiak, where she found many challenges. Back home in California, she taught one year, then took off to be a recreation director on an air base in Japan. Feeling the need to be more rooted, she moved to Ann Arbor, where she met her lifelong friend and roommate, Connie Amick, whose family became her surrogate family. Fran taught for a year in the Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) until a Fulbright Exchange to Wellington New Zealand was offered, and had a wonderful year down under. She returned to Ann Arbor, but not for long, as Europe called and she spent two years teaching in US Army Schools in Germany and England, which offered endless weekend and vacation trips.
Upon return to Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Fran had a long, distinguished career in education as a teacher, media specialist, and librarian, and was committed to a life of service including two stints in the Peace Corps (El Salvador in the 1960s and Morocco in the 1990s). Fran's efforts to give back included serving on the Packard Community Clinic (now Packard Health) Board, the University of Michigan's IRB (Institutional Review Board), and the UUAA (Unitarian Universalist of Ann Arbor) Board. She was a member of the Ann Arbor Sister City Delegation's visit to Juigalpa, Nicaragua in November 1988, and spoke fluent Spanish. She was also an active member of the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, the Cobblestone Farm Association, and Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. She volunteered many hours at Kiwanis, sorting clothes and staying involved even as she turned 90. An enthusiastic singer, Fran sang with several local choral groups including the University of Michigan Choral Union, the Stark Raving MADrigal Singers, the Chalice Singers (the UUAA choir), and many groups that toured globally.
Fran built long-term relationships with many friends who loved and admired her. She was an active member of her Unitarian Universalist congregation, helping with numerous projects over the years.
Fran was a life-long learner, taking classes in-person and online after the COVID epidemic. Always curious, always interested, always reading, she was a member of four book groups. She was also an active practitioner of yoga, and a member of the VIVA group (for active seniors), a great cook, and an enthusiastic gardener. Travel was an important tool for learning and understanding for Fran. She was a consummate traveler, visiting dozens of countries in her lifetime inspiring many who knew her to see the world and appreciate different cultures.
In Fran's own words, "Nothing lets us see our own country better than leaving it for a while. If you have the chance to visit another culture, think about finding a job there so you can stay longer…Staying in such countries, with no expectations and an open mind, you'll gain insights into how people live, think, and deal with everyday problems, often very differently than Americans do. Realizing that the US is unique in its government, privileges, and resources is one of the most valuable lessons from living and working overseas."
Fran is survived by her cousins from her mom's side, David Lloyd Jones of New Palestine, IN, Robert Taylor Jones of Acton, MA, Charles Brooks Jones of Port St. Joe, FL, William Eben Jones of Tallahassee, FL, Mike Taylor of Marietta, OH, Marilyn Long, of Bowling Green, OH and niece, Allyson Jones Warren, Nazareth, PA; by surrogate family members: Jack and Susan Amick, Steve Amick and Sharyl Burau, Clark and Gwen (Amick) Beavans and Henry Amick; and by her cat, Tom, adopted by a friend. One surrogate family member reports that when he was growing up, he thought everyone had a mother, a father, and a Fran.
The world was a much richer and more beautiful place with Fran in it. She will be greatly missed. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor (UUAA).
Memorials may be given to UUAA: 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., the Washtenaw Community College Jean Taylor Nursing Scholarship Fund, 4800 E. Huron River Dr, Student Center #304, attention Jean Taylor Scholarship, or the Eastern Michigan University School of Education Jean Taylor Early Childhood Scholarship Fund, EMU Foundation, PO Box 972057, Ypsilanti, MI.
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