Dale William Francis

Dale William Francis passed away at home surrounded by family and friends on Sunday, June 25, 2023. Dale’s shift came to its end, and he has clocked out for the last time to go and rest in peace.

Dale was born in Jackson County, Missouri on May 14, 1944, a child of Clyde and Pearl (Gardner) Francis, the fourth in order with siblings Gary, Susie, Betty, Donnie and Jeff.

Dale came up the hard way in the middle of the last century, but he never let it stop him as a kid and he never complained about it as an adult. Instead, he would use stories of having to stoke the embers every morning after he shook the snow off of his blanket to heat the house or pretending to love the taste of fresh goats milk that he took from the goat and not from out of a refrigerator to make his family appreciate the comforts of their home and the modern conveniences he worked so hard to provide.

Before he was in his teens Dale was driving Missouri backroads in his father’s milk truck leading to a fondness for fast cars and tight curves, and subsequently to his auto repair career from always fixing his cars that could not handle the curves. Eventually that turned to a second speed-limit driving second career delivering for Major Brands, Inc. in Columbia Missouri, from which he retired.

After his 2 year service as a soldier in Germany, Dale was honorably discharged from the US Army in 1967 and returned to Nelson, Missouri to woo the only love of his life and on December 7, 1967, Dale made Jonetta Nadine Newell his wife and her daughter Tammy he made his daughter too, with son Dale Jr. following in 1970 and daughter Sarah surprising everyone in 1987.

Working was what Dale did and selfless is what Dale was. When not on the clock for the many garages and repair shops that utilized his special skills to divine the problem with a car’s engine just by hearing how it runs, he was gladly helping friends and family with their vehicle troubles as well. At one point it seemed Dale was the personal on-call repair man for all the parents of students at the Apostolic Christian Academy in Columbia while his children attended school there. Even in retirement Dale worked as the bus driver for the Boys and Girls Club of Columbia and most recently Dale proudly worked for the Columbia Missourian as an office jockey and delivery fixer. From his Missourian hat (when not wearing an Army hat), and a Missourian shirt under a Missourian jacket, he was a walking billboard for the paper and made great friendships with coworkers as well.

Dale was a master of all things gas powered, from the smallest weed eater to an outboard motor to the largest truck. He was also, through desire or necessity, a proficient diddler with refrigerators, heating and air conditioning and home wiring and repair, though often as not ignoring the fuse box altogether when doing so. His motto was he would only pay for repairs on things that he could not fix himself.

Laying treble-hooked chicken liver chunks in the channels of rivers and ponds all over Saline and Boone County was Dale’s favorite thing to do, lying in wait for the big cats instead of trolling in circles for kiddie fish like crappie and bluegill. A 2nd degree Black Belt in small talk, Dale would often come up missing during family vacations only to be found solving life’s problems with two or three strangers that now looked like a group of old friends.

Dale’s steady life and dependable character are tags for many of his generation. While others chased commercial success and the big opportunity that is often paid for in broken marriages and bitter relationships with no friends, Dale instead accumulated unto himself the love and respect of everyone who knew him.

A special thank you from the family goes to Jack Swartz and Tim Pohlman for the friendship they shared with Dale. Jack was one of the first people Dale met when he moved to Columbia and their relationship went from car owner and car repairman to brothers from different mothers. Theirs was not a rah-rah relationship but a quiet and steady affection that grew over the decades; Dale loved Jack.

A neighbor two houses down, over dozens of years Tim Pohlman became Dale’s co-conspirator in all things jury-rigged. Between Tim’s garage and Dale’s garage, every tool imaginable could be found. They almost played as kids trying to find things that needed fixing, or things Tim thought he could make better than they were.  It can be confidently stated that between Dale and Tim, they could mend or adapt or adjust anything made by man to suit their purposes. Heat it, cut it, shrink it, bend it, twist it, shred it, screw it or blow it up, if Dale did not have the tool, Tim did. If Tim needed an extra set of hands, Dale had them ready. Tim protectively hovered over Dale and the family house throughout Dale’s extended battle with cancer, and Tim’s wife and his daughters Debbie and Sarah and Erin bathed Jonetta and Dale in love and attention. Dale loved Tim.

Dale is forever remembered at home by his wife of 55 years Jonetta, and forever in the hearts, minds and DNA of his daughter Tammy (Jim) Marsden (and grandsons Blake, Zachary {Shannon} and Caleb), his son Dale Jr. (Marquisse and grandson Griffin), and his daughter Sarah (Lindsey and grandson Alex) and great grandchildren Tresa, Sadie, Hutson, Hunter and Harper Marsden

Family will receive friends on Thursday, June 29, 2023, from 9:00 – 10:00 am at Bach-Yager Funeral Chapel, followed by the funeral service at 10:00 am with James Marsden officiating. Burial with military honors will follow the service at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Jacksonville.

Because of the exceptional care and concern and respect shown to Dale during his local Honor Flight trip to Washington DC and the meaning it gave to him in relation to his years-ago service in the Army, the family requests considerations honoring Dale’s memory be sent to the Mid-Missouri Honor Flight in care of Bach-Yager Funeral Chapel, 1610 N Garth Ave., Columbia MO 65202.

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