Frances Rousseau Ince Riley

Mrs. Frances Rousseau Ince Riley, aged 92, has passed away in Ashland, OR. She was born in the "Dallas" area of NE Huntsville to William "Dee" and Violet (Pitts) Rousseau. Sisters Elizabeth Allen and Marjorie Whitworth predeceased her. After graduating Huntsville HS and attending Peabody College, Fran married Lt. James P. Ince on July 14, 1945 in Brownwood, TX. They started their family in Des Moines, IA where sons Jim Jr. and Jerome were born in 1946 and 1950. After a divorce in 1957, Fran returned to AL where she held a number of positions in Huntsville, Birmingham and Dothan, AL; most notably in sales with L.M. Berry Co., and as a successful realtor. Fran was always energetic and productive in her work, always receiving fine letters of recommendation from employers. After retirement, Fran led the effort to build the "Optimist Park", a recreation, and sports venue at Andrew Jackson and Oakwood, just a few blocks from the house in which she was born. A big Civil War buff, she also organized a Civil War reenactment at Woodville, AL, an area where many generations of Rousseaus have lived. Fran always stayed very close to and supportive of her sons and niece Peggy Hawkins from Fran's late sister Elizabeth. Many fun summers and school vacations were spent on Violet's working farm outside Madison, atop Monte Sano Mtn, and fishing/boating on the TN River; very often in the company of Marjorie "Margie" and her husband "Whit" Whitworth. Fran and the Heritage Primitive Baptist Church found each other several years ago. Fran felt like family within this church community and loved the singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" especially. Fran came to love dogs later in life; beloved Casey was her favorite. Burial plans for Fran's cremated remains at Peter's Cove Cemetery in Woodville are yet to be finalized.