Myrtle Frances Leach

Myrtle Frances Leach, 96, of Kokomo passed away June 18, 2018. She was born April 24, 1922 in Brookhaven, Mississippi to Ephraim and Cora Belle (Herring) Emfinger. Frances worked hard in her younger days, picking cotton when she was young, then as a welder during WWII. She married Rev. Clyde Leach in March of 1946. For a while they lived in Mississippi where she worked in nursing homes. In the early 1960s, they moved to Kokomo where she was the full time house mother at the Friendship Home for 13 years. There, Frances was a mother to all the young women that passed through. She was a member of the Amana Baptist Church and enjoyed gardening, watching WWE wrestling and Animal Planet. But most of all, Frances loved her family. She would often babysit for her grandchildren and cherished time spent with them. In addition to her parents and husband, Frances was preceded in death by brothers, R. E. (Carrie) Emfinger and Fred Emfinger; and sisters, Eloise (Jody) Greenlee, Louise (Joe) Dousay, and Edna (Roy) Hall. Frances is survived by her daughter, Pam (Dan) Ennis; grandchildren, Mike and Kara Brown, and Daren and Sara McCorkle; great grandchildren, Keenan and Tia Jaenicke, Devin and Haylee Jaenicke, Ethan, Noah, Kylan, Emma, Danica, Lucas, Landen, Easton and Lennon, and one great-great grandson due in September. She also has a large extended family that resides in Mississippi. Family will receive friends Thursday, June 21, from 2-5pm at Sunset Memory Garden Funeral Home, 2097 W. Alto Road, Kokomo, IN 46092. Services to follow, officiated by Pastor Mike Ennis.