Frances Ruth Smith Harms, 73

Frances Ruth Smith Harms was born on Nov. 15, 1933, to Sam M. and Susie Unruh Smith in Gray County, Kan. She peacefully passed away at home on July 30, 2007, at the age of 73. Funeral services was held on Aug. 3, at the Mt. View Mennonite Church in Bonners Ferry with burial following in the Mt. View Mennonite Cemetery.

Frances grew to womanhood in the Copeland, Kan., community.

On May 23, 1948, after giving her heart to the Lord Jesus, Minister Vernon Nightingale, baptized her into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. She embraced this faith to the end.

Frances was joined in marriage to me, Eugene Harms on Jan. 16, 1952, by Minister Vernon Nightingale. We began our married life in Ulysses, Kan., and enjoyed a very close relationship for 55 years. This union was blessed with four sons and one daughter.

We spent 26 years in Ulysses, Kan., on the family farm. Family and friends enjoyed her homemaking skills and hospitality. We, as a family, appreciated her charitable spirit toward others. In 1978 we moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, where she spent the last 28 years of her life. She loved the mountains and found joy in observing nature, listening to birdsong, and tending her many beautiful flowers. Spending time with her grandchildren was very special to her. She often prayed for them.

After a five month battle with cancer, the family was blessed with her radiant face and smile as the Lord came to take her home.

Those left to cherish memories are her husband, Eugene Harms, Bonners Ferry, Idaho; and four sons, Arnold and Diane Harms, Ivins, Utah; Cecil and Carol Harms, Murtaugh, Idaho; Troy and Sue Harms, Bonners Ferry, Idaho; Wade and Elaine Harms, Hazelton, Idaho; one daughter; Doreen and Jeremy Amoth, Bonners Ferry, Idaho; 19 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; three brothers, Vernon and Evelyn Smith, Ulysses, Kan.; Ervie and Pearl Smith, Dodge City, Kan.; Milton and Shirley Smith, Dodge City, Kan.; four sisters, Irene Unruh, Copeland, Kan., Viola and Lee Koehn, Montezuma, Kan.; Verda and John Koehn, Stover, Mo.; Doris and Bill Friesen, Perrinton, Mich.; one brother-in-law: Pete Koehn, Cimarron, Kan. She was preceded in death by her parents and one sister.

Please visit the Bonners Ferry Funeral Home website at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com and sign the guest book.