Frances Klein

Frances Meaders Klein, an artist who lived a life filled with creativity and love of family, died July 12, 2018 in Nashville, TN. She was 94.She was born on Jan. 19, 1924, in Anniston, Alabama, the first child of Leon Charles and Esther Ray Meaders. She grew up in the Methodist Church and was christened by her grandfather, the Rev. George Washington Ray, who was an ordained elder in the Methodist Church.She lived in Anniston throughout her childhood, the early years of her marriage to Wallace Carnahan Klein and the birth of her first two children, Christopher Carnahan Klein and Patricia Klein Roark.After graduating from Anniston High School in 1942, Frances attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and then transferred to Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now known as Auburn University, where she graduated with a bachelor's in applied art in 1945.After World War II, she lived for a time in New York City where she worked as a fabric designer, returning to Anniston to care for her ailing mother. She married Wallace Carnahan Klein on May 11, 1951. She joined Grace Episcopal Church in Anniston, Alabama, after she married Klein, who was a lifelong Episcopalian.The Kleins and their first two children lived in Anniston until Rudisill Foundry, where Wallace worked as an accountant, burned down. They then moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where their third child, David Meaders Klein, was born. They later lived in Montezuma, Georgia; Florence, Alabama; Laurel, Mississippi; Barrington, Illinois, and eventually Enterprise, Alabama, where Wallace worked for the Sessions Peanut Co. and they became longtime members of the Church of the Epiphany.Both were very involved in church and Frances designed needlepoint pillows and kneelers for the church, which are still in use.Frances also won awards for flower arranging and was a member of a garden club and stitchery group in Enterprise.She is survived by her three children, Christopher Carnahan Klein of Nashville, Tenn., Patricia Klein Roark of Birmingham, Ala., and David Meaders Klein of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and her sister, Patricia Meaders Greer of Temple, Texas, as well as her grandchildren, Hannah and Colin Brown Klein of Nashville; Andrew Roark of Midland, Texas; and Shelly and Lucy Roark of Birmingham, Alabama.A memorial service will be held July 28 at St. Ann's Episcopal Church, 419 Woodland St., Nashville, Tenn. 37206. Visitation will be held at 1 p.m. at the church and the service will be at 2 p.m., with a reception following.The family requests that donations be made to Episcopal Relief and Development, www.episcopalrelief.org or a charity of your choice.