Frances Durham Foreman Gantt and Yeti
Frances Durham Foreman Gantt was born on Aug 1, 1934 to William and Frances Durham in Birmingham, AL. After losing a valiant battle with Alzheimers/dementia, she passed away on her 87th birthday, Aug 1, 2021 in Pittsburgh, PA.
She attended Chattanooga High School and UT Chattanooga. She had three daughters, Janet, Sharon and Sandra with her first husband, John D.R. Foreman Jr., of Chattanooga, TN.
Fran was a former 27-year resident, along with her second husband, Cy Gantt, of Port Richey, FL after their retirements from DuPont & Remay Inc in Chattanooga and Old Hickory, TN. She was a marketing rep at DuPont and an ISO compliance manager, also import/export manager at Remay, Inc.
Trained at an early age, Fran was a talented pianist who also played by ear and was a member of the Chattanooga Musicians Union. She played in many clubs and venues during the 60'and 70's in a band (and as soloist) with Ret. Brigadier General Carl Levi, Charlie Chambers, Rome Benedict and many other talented musicians. They played "gigs" at the Panoram Club, Fairyland Club, Eagles Club, Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, The Read House, Town & Country Restaurant, The Black Angus, Michaels and others. She also played on many occasions at Sand Pebble Pointe in Port Richey.
Fran and Cy were avid bridge players for decades with friends and neighbors in Chattanooga and Florida. They enjoyed traveling and cruising the world, spending time with friends, along with crossword puzzles, Soduko and their beloved Himalayan cat, Yeti. They loved tropical wildlife and watching the beautiful sunsets overlooking the Gulf from their lanai in Port Richey, FL.
Fran was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Cyrus Gantt (who passed on Jan 10, 2009); parents, William and Frances Durham; daughter, Sharon F. McGinnis Thorn, grandmother, Lucille Keith; granddaughter, Rebecca Ann Bitton, and grandson, Matthew Luther McGinnis
Survivors are her daughters, Janet (Bill) Green of Hixson, Sandra (Steve) Burkett of Pittsburgh PA; sister, Kyleen Franz, Missouri City, TX; grandchildren, Christopher (Amber) Bitton of Hixson, Meghan Mcginnis (Michael) Tavani of Southhold NY; Meredith Mcginnis (Seth) Billings of Nashville; Kelsey Burkett of Hilliard OH; Courtney Green (Espy) of Hixson; Jonathan (Nicole) Burkett of Kansas City, KS; also 10 great-grandchildren.
Joint gravesite services for Fran and Cy Gantt will be held at later dates TBA. Their co-mingled cremains will be interred at Chattanooga Memorial Park (Duck Pond) in Red Bank and Garden of Memories in Tampa in FL.
Frances and Cy Gantt