Frances Jeannette Smith Nichols, 78, went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 30, 2010, after a long illness.

Frances was born in Dunbar, on November 3, 1931, daughter of the late Bert Smith and Garnett Lovejoy Smith Simmons of Dunbar. She graduated from Dunbar High School in 1949 and graduated from Capitol City Business College in 1951. She later worked in the dispensary at the Union Carbide Institute Plant for several years.

Frances was a member of the Dunbar First Baptist Church for over 35 years where she taught a Sunday school class. Her friends will remember her as "Doc Nichols" because she served as the Dunbar Baptist Church camp doctor for several years. After relocating to Hurricane, she became a charter member of the Hurricane Bible Church. She was committed to helping women have a better life by losing weight that would negatively impact their health. She was an officer in the Dunbar chapter of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) and she started the Hurricane TOPS chapter. Frances also financially supported several ministries such as the Union Mission of Charleston, Feed the Children and Trinity Broadcasting. She was committed to helping stray animals and over the years fed dozens of stray cats that came to her back door.

She is survived by her husband, Richard Nichols of Hurricane; her daughter, Terry Nichols Wigglesworth and her husband, Thomas H. Jr. of Vienna, VA; and her cousins, Judy Massey McCoy of Teays Valley and Don Bryant of Dunbar.

Funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Monday at Keller Funeral Home, Dunbar, with the Rev. Art Hage of Hurricane Bible Church officiating. Burial will follow at Grandview Memorial Park, Dunbar.

Family and friends are invited to visitation one hour prior to the service on Monday.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to HospiceCare, 1606 Kanawha Blvd. W., Charleston, WV 25312-2536.