Mother of 14 not ready for life of leisure years ago
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
One would think cooking, cleaning, canning, and sewing for 14 children would sap a mother's strength and give her plenty of reasons to sit back and take life easy in old age.
Not so with Frances Stuchlik. She will be 83 years old in December and is still going strong. She maintains a steady job and does a lot of sewing.
Frances has been a seamstress for many years, sewing everything from wedding gowns and prom dresses to simple things like baby bibs. She also does alterations and repairs.
Always interested in new challenges, she recently acquired an embroidery machine and is learning how to operate it.
Her sewing projects are completed between times on the job as a full-time cook at Herington Lutheran Home. This is her 12th year at the care facility. Prior to that, she cooked at Marion Manor for three years.
"I don't cook for myself," she said with a smile, "but I love working at the home."
She said she gets attached to residents and always is saddened when they die.
Frances has a computer and knows how to send e-mails, but she said she doesn't do it much because it takes too much time.
She grew up as Frances Holub, the oldest of five children born to Joe and Mary Holub of rural Marion.
Life on the farm was busy with chores such as milking, field work, and preserving garden produce.
When Frances was three years old, someone broke into the house while the family was gone and stole everything. The robber used a big quilt to gather up everything from clothing to pots and pans.
When the family got home and saw the devastation, Frances' mother said to her, "You better take care of that dress, because it's the only one you have."
It was an unforgettable moment for the little girl.
Because the farm was on a farm-to-market road, hobos frequently stopped at the house during the economic depression of the 1930s to beg for food. Sometimes they did odd jobs such as chopping wood to earn it.
Frances said the Great Depression didn't have a big impact on her family.
"We raised our own food, had a milk cow, and produced hay for the livestock, so it didn't bother us like the people in the cities," she said.
She went to Pilsen Grade School, often walking the five and one-half miles to school.
In 1940, she graduated from Marion High School. Her intentions of becoming a nun were changed when she began dating Richard Stuchlik. The high school sweethearts were married in February 1941.
For more than six years, they lived in a little house in the Flint Hills south of Ferrell Ranch (now Donahue Ranch).
In 1947, they moved to the farm where Frances continues to reside, about two miles west of Lost Springs.
The family grew rapidly, and Richard began working in the oil fields while farming and operating a dairy. Frances kept a large garden.
She clearly remembers a conversation she once had with Father Emil Kapaun.
"How will we take care of all these children?" she implored him.
"The Lord will provide," he said, "and it's better to have them on your knee than on your conscience."
She never forgot that, and with everyone doing their part, He did provide.
Frances said she experienced a lot of morning sickness with her pregnancies but accepted every child with joy, as did her husband: "I loved every one of them, and they're good to me now."
The couple had 11 sons and three daughters. By the time the last child was born, some of the older ones were married or in college.
When the youngest entered kindergarten, Francis took a job at Paragon's at Herington, where she sewed children's clothes. She loved the job and continued 17 years until the facility burned down.
She said family members pitched in and did the necessary tasks to provide for everyday needs. The youngest graduated from high school in 1974. All are married except Dick, better known as Father Richard, a priest in St. Margaret Mary Parish, Wichita.
One of the saddest days of her life was Oct. 6, 1995. Her husband was getting ready to go out to do chores when he collapsed on the kitchen floor. She said she administered CPR but to no avail.
Three years earlier, in 1992, just before Christmas, she experienced the death of her son Wayne, and in May of this year, son-in-law Stan Scharping.
She finds consolation in her large family. There are always good things to look forward to, like birthdays.
Frances has 47 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, and one step great-great grandchild. Each member of the family, including in-laws, gets a birthday card every year, no small feat considering there are more than 120.
At least two great-grandchildren are on the way, and three grandchildren will be married between January and April. As usual, Frances will crochet ring bearer pillows and garters for their weddings.
Four children and their spouses live in the area: Monte on a neighboring farm; Ramona Beisel in Tampa, John northeast of Lincolnville, and Larry at Lehigh.
Others live in other parts of the state, one lives in Arizona, one in Oklahoma, and one in Arkansas.
Frances' cozy farmhouse is full of gifts from family, including collections of angels, salt-and-pepper shakers, and dolls.
"I guess I'm into my second childhood," she joked as she looked around at all the dolls.
She said she has been blessed with good health and plans to continue working as long as possible. She looks at her life with satisfaction.
"It was busy but fulfilling, and I've enjoyed all my years," she said. "I had a good husband and good children."
