Lisa Cristean Francis

May 13, 1963 – September 3, 2019.

Lisa was born May 13, 1963 to Susan & John Francis in Tacoma & grew up in Puyallup, WA. Lisa was a go-getter, fighter & survivor from the very start. As a child, she picked berries, had a paper route & even charged a fee when people parked in front of her house to go to the fair.

Life wasn't always easy. Lisa was in a number of foster homes over the years after a concerned teacher made a report. She went back & forth between her parents & a number of foster homes. At one, she would climb a tree & smoke to get away from the boys who were mean to her, Cigarettes remained her “comfort food” throughout her life.

Lisa graduated from Puyallup High, spent some time in the Air Force and then moved to Spokane where she graduated from Spokane Community College.

Lisa worked her way through SCC as a weekend cook for SPARC (Spokane Addiction Recovery Center). After graduation, she worked in loss prevention at Kmart, Fred Meyer & Nordstrom & maybe a few others. She just loved catching the “bad guys”; but also told stories of hungry children who stole rather than starve & elderly folks who were lonely or sometimes unaware of what they were doing. Lisa also joined the reserves & went to Yakima monthly to play war games. She always said she thought they were planning for the next war in the desert.

For fun, while in Spokane, she rode her motorcycle, went fishing & joined a women's softball team or 2 & played all summer both in Spokane & Coeur d'Alene. She loved the company of her cats. Lisa enjoyed music & could dance all night. The highlight of every summer was Amy's party on the lake.

Always a night owl, Lisa took a job with Reel Entertainment Inc., Theatres managing the iconic Garland. This job took her around the country, managing theaters wherever she went. Her last stop was in Hightstown, NJ where she owned & operated her own theater, East Windsor Cinemas. It was here that she also gave birth to her son, Parker. Parker was the light of her life. Even though she really wanted to return to Spokane after she closed the theater, she was committed to staying in NJ until Parker was an adult so both parents were nearby.

Lisa called when she was diagnosed with breast cancer & wanted to come back to Spokane. She arrived on the train 1:30 in the morning the day after Trump was inaugurated. Her plan was to stay with Bonnie & Lisa until she was done with treatment, but as it turned out, the treatment never ended. Thanks to Dr. Mueller, she also learned she had a genetic blood disorder that had been misdiagnosed for years. After all of Lisa's years away, she was able to renew her relationship with Leslie & this was a great comfort to her during her journey. Our little Chihuahua mix, Little Guy, adopted Lisa as his mom & never let her out of her sight, he was lying beside her when she passed.

As a student, Parker was able to come stay with her between semesters this summer & they had lots of quality time together before her illness took her life. This time was very important to her.

Lisa passed away at Hospice House South in Spokane, WA, early the morning of September 3, 2019. By the look on her face, I knew she was now pain free & at peace. She is survived by her son, Parker of Hightstown, NJ, partner, Leslie Gardner of Spokane, siblings Danny & Vicky of Spokane and her furry Little Guy at home.