Frances Alma Winke, nee Cottman

Yesterday I stumbled upon Fran’s obit. Such a beautiful photo. Really shows her spirit. My mom, Evelyn Grady Baginski of Brookfied, Illinois became very close friends esp with the passing of Don and Paul. Fran considered my sister Pat Brown and me her adopted daughters and we certainly considered her like a second mom. Jerry always graciously took me to and from the airport when I would visit from Houston. Fran was always excited to eat with us at the Westmont Applebee’s and shop nearby at Kohl’s. What a delightful lady. It meant a great deal to us when my mom passed away the end of March 1999 when she spent the entire day with us, riding in the funeral limo all the way to Buffalo Grove and joining us for lunch. We stayed in touch throughout the years at Christmas time until a few years ago. We also are the proud owners of the silver 10th anniversary TransAm of her sons which is nearly completely restored. Our family is equally saddened to learn yesterday of Dave’s passing as we had something special planned about 6 mos from now and I will elaborate about that on Dave’s Legacy page. Fran was dearly loved by the Gabel family.

Shared by katie and bob gabel in texas on 1/18/2023 2:14 AM

David - I am so sorry to hear of your mom's passing. I will always remember the nice times we had at Thanksgiving at Linda and Ken's home and her delicious deviled eggs! Please accept my condolence.

Shared by joan del sarto on 10/7/2021 7:04 PM

We are so sorry to here of "Fran's" passing. What a strong woman she was! May she rest in peace with her husband and sons. Our thoughts from Iowa are with her family.

Shared by bill and mary ann clark on 10/7/2021 6:07 PM