Obituary of Frances Bingham

Frances K. Bingham, 82, of State College, Pennsylvania, died early Wednesday morning, February 27, at HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital after a courageous battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a chronic respiratory disease. She touched all she met with her warmth, wit and special sparkle, which she never lost despite her failing health. Frances was born to Francis "Frank" and Vincenta Pauline Dubovi Kroll in Leechburg, Pennsylvania, on January 21, 1931. After attending school in Leechburg and Fredonia, New York, Frances graduated from high school in Leechburg in 1949 and went on to complete a two-year degree in medical administration in Pittsburgh. She worked for a physician there until she met and married Charles Kenneth Bingham. They were wed on December 28, 1957 in Pittsburgh, and were each other's partner and comfort for fifty-five years. Frances and Charles moved to State College in 1959. With grace and humor, she managed Charles' commercial art and design studio while devoting herself to raising their five children and a menagerie of pets. Children, dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, quail, chukars and the occasional duck flourished under Frances' care. She loved to sing, and was also an accomplished cook and a lifetime gardener. She especially loved her flower garden and was gifted in the art of flower arranging. She was a member of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church. Frances had one sister, Dorothy Smietana, of Leechburg, who preceded her in death. In addition to her husband, Charles, she is survived by her son Stuart Bingham and his wife, Ellen, of State College, four daughters, Lorraine Barrett and her husband, Donald, of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Susan Kempton and her husband, Kenneth, of State College, Carolyn Kello and her husband, Nicholas, of State College, and Mary Bingham of Milesburg, Pennsylvania, and by her five grandchildren: Kieran, Erik, Karen, Nina and Nika. Visitation will be from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, March 3 at Koch Funeral Home, 2401 South Atherton Street, State College. A funeral mass will be held Monday, March 4, at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, 820 Westerly Parkway, State College, with Monsignor David Lockard officiating. Burial will follow at Graysville Cemetery, Route 45, behind Upper Spruce Creek Church, near the village of Graysville, in Huntingdon County. Memorial donations may be made to the University of Pittsburgh, Simmons Fund for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, NW 628 UPMC Montefiore, 3459 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, Attn: Simmons Fund for IPF or at www.simmonsfund.pitt.edu/donate.html Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.