Frances Meacham

Born in Lenoir City, Tennessee on September 19, 1923

Departed on May 29, 2019 and resided in Nashville, Tennessee

Frances (Fran) May Holdredge Meacham passed away peacefully surrounded by loving family members at her home in Nashville, Tennessee on May 29, 2019. She led a full and blessed life.
Fran was born in Lenoir City, Tennessee to the late Leo and Meta Holdredge on Sept 19, 1923. She was a graduate of Central High School in Fountain City, Tennessee and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she earned a degree in Child Development. While attending college, she was awarded and accepted a scholarship to further her studies at the Merrill Palmer Institute in Detroit, Michigan. She was a member of Delta Zeta sorority while at UT-K.
In many of the scholastic breaks during her college years, she worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in support of the Second World War efforts. Her task at the laboratory was to push a clicker button on an intricate control panel at regular intervals. It is still a family mystery as to what role her "button-clicking" effort actually played in the development of the atomic bomb but we're pretty sure that she almost won WWII single-handily (pun intended).
In 1947, she married Harold Cleburne Meacham, Jr. and moved with him to Memphis where he attended dental school at UT's Health Sciences Center. When Harold (Bee) graduated, they moved to Nashville to establish his dental practice where they subsequently raised their family of four children.
Fran and her family were longtime members of Glendale United Methodist Church. She participated in numerous service events such as assisting with preschool programs in both Nashville inner city and Cheatham County. She also was an active community volunteer. Fran was a reading tutor for the Nashville Literacy Program for several years. She is best known to many through her multi-year coordination of the Green Hills Meals on Wheels Program.
Fran was a loving wife and mother. She especially enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was known for having a sharp wit and sense of humor. She enjoyed travel and took multiple trips to Europe. She was a friend to all animals including numerous family pets (dogs, cats, birds, gerbils etc.) and native wildlife (with the notable exception of squirrels and chipmunks). She also has the most extensive collection of stuffed sheep toy animals outside of Scotland.
She is preceded in death by her parents, husband (Harold), three brothers (Ernest, Ed, and Reverend Gene Holdredge), and one daughter (Ann). She is survived by three children: Hal (Leslie), Rick (Ruth), and Pat (Paul) Citro, five grandchildren: Rita (Dean) Davidson, Garrett (Jen) Davidson, Clay (Mary Beth), Kyle, and Ryan Meacham, and five great-grandchildren: Claire Davidson, Danielle, Bailey, & Bo Meacham, and Daisy Shortland.
The Meacham family wants to express our sincere appreciation to Carol Graves, Sherry Holland, Teresa Caldwell, and Dana Graves for the loving care and attention they have given our mother for the past twenty-two months.
Visitation will be held in Fellowship Hall at Glendale United Methodist Church at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2019. A Memorial Service to further celebrate her life will follow at 4:00 p.m. in the church sanctuary. In lieu of flowers, memorials in her memory may be made to Glendale United Methodist Church, 900 Glendale Lane, Nashville, TN 37204 or Heifer International, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72202.