Frances Gloria (Burgess) Tuggle
Born on March 11, 1923 in Pruden, KentuckyDeparted May 31, 2023 in Palm Bay, Florida
Frances “Fran” Gloria (Burgess) Tuggle, of Melbourne, FL, passed away peacefully on May 31, 2023 at the William Childs Hospice House in Palm Bay, FL, at the age of 100 years, 2 months and 10 days. She was born on March 21, 1923 in Pruden, KY, the daughter of Frank and Ernesta (Durigon) Burgess. Fran was the second born of nine children: three boys and six girls. She outlived all of her siblings except for one, her youngest sister Patricia.
Fran grew up in the coal mining town of Lynch, KY, and moved away from home at the age of 18 to Louisville, KY, where she worked at Fort Knox. Fran married Paul Henry Tuggle on October 13, 1945 and they had two children, Gary and Donna. Paul and Fran moved to Brevard County, Florida in 1961 eventually settling in Melbourne, FL. Fran was employed by Civil Service, worked and retired from Patrick Air Force Base, Hospital Supply.
Family was very important to Frances as she knew the birth dates of every member of her family and their families and anniversaries too. Her children recall annual summer vacations to see family which she looked forward to. One of her joys was having family over for special occasions and with grands and great grands increasing the family size, we were up to three tables. She also looked forward to visits from anyone who came to see her!
Fran was a blessed, very independent woman who did not have hobbies but did enjoy working jigsaw puzzles, playing Mexican Train Dominoes, card games and viewing photos. She typically kept busy keeping a clean and tidy house, doing lawn work and caring for her family. She enjoyed helping others. If you knew Fran at all, you knew she was very inquisitive when she spoke to people as she was genuinely interested in their lives.
Fran was a member of Central Baptist Church, Melbourne, FL, for over 60 years. She was devoted to the cause of Christ and loved her church family. She will be remembered for keeping records of her Sunday School class attendance plus details of each member, counting money and other various types of service. She faithfully served as the record keeper for Vacation Bible School for around 25 years, until she was 97 years of age.
Although Fran leaves a void in all of our hearts, we take comfort in knowing that she is in the loving arms of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Fran leaves behind one son, Gary (Debbie) Tuggle; one daughter, Donna (Brian) Caudill, one sister Patricia “Patsy” Jenkins; ten grandchildren: Julie (Jason) Perry, Jessica (Ryan) Creagan, Cassandra (Dal) Hile, Alyssa Tuggle, Joy Caudill, Vanessa (Scott) Hagans, Benjamin Tuggle, Francessca (Edwin) Morton, Caleb Tuggle and Krisstina Tuggle; eleven great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews and many friends to mourn her passing.
Fran was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers: Frank Piromollie Burgess, Jr., Richard Pete Burgess, James Vincent Burgess; and four sisters: Tracy Ann Burgess (infant), Betty Jean Dempsey, Kathryn Rose Hogg, and Margaret Ann Burgess (infant).
Fran’s celebration of life will be on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at Central Baptist Church located at 2503 Country Club Road, Melbourne, FL at 2:00 p.m. A viewing will take place 30 minutes prior to the service. Burial will be at the Florida Memorial Gardens, 5950 US-1, Rockledge, FL.
