Sara Skinner

Sara Frances Yates Whelchel Skinner, 86, Orlando, Florida

Frances Skinner passed away at home April 6, 2021 with her family by her side.  Born in Villa Rica, Georgia on April 27, 1934 to William Raymond and Mildred Lee (Wilson) Yates as the 5th of 6 children on the family farm near Hickory Level. Frances attended school in Villa Rica and graduated from Villa Rica High School.  She worshipped at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church as a child, and was married there on April 13, 1961 to Philip E. Whelchel.

She moved to Atlanta after graduation, and worked at JM Tull in Atlanta for many years before she married and moved to Orlando. Frances started her family while living in Pine Castle near where her first husband was previously stationed while in the Air Force.  In the 1970s the family moved to an home on Little Lake Conway which brought endless entertaining, water skiing and many memories made. Frances was briefly a beautician in Orlando in the early 1960s, and only recently did not renew her state license.  In the mid-1980s Frances went to work for OCPS in their purchasing department, and retired in 1996, when she married her second husband.  Frances volunteered throughout the area during her child raising years, including  at Meals on Wheels, FBC Orlando, Trinity Lutheran School, and Pine Castle Women’s Club.  She was a longtime and faithful member of First Baptist Church of Orlando, and enjoyed spending time and going on adventures with her many precious friends.

She is predeceased by her husband Clyde Jerome Skinner, her first husband Philip Whelchel, brothers E. Wilson Yates, E. Frank Yates and W. Robert Yates.  She is survived by her son, Steve Whelchel of Orlando, daughter, Gina Whelchel (Scott) of Atlanta, twin granddaughters Poppy and Matilda, sisters Catherine West of Bremen, GA and Malline Austin of Fayetteville, GA, four loving stepchildren – Sheree, Jerry Jr., Cheryl, Phillip and their families, numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and extended family.  Frances will be interred at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Villa Rica.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your local hospice, Meals on Wheels, or The Russell Home in Orlando in her memory.  A special thank you to niece Lynn Miller for providing loving and patient care the last few months of mom’s life.