Frances Ruth Pearson

Frances Ruth Pearson, M.D., of Fayetteville, passed away Sunday, May 1, 2022. Before moving to Fayetteville Fran Pearson had a successful career as a medical doctor in Comfort, Texas. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 1965 with pre-med and medical degrees, one of only five women to be accepted in the class. Two residencies in internal medicine followed, one at the University of Kansas, the other at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. In 1970, she opened a medical practice in Comfort, Texas, while raising her two daughters, Cynthia Lee Pearson (1960) and Lara Margaret Pearson (1970). Dan Griffin moved to Comfort in 1984, where he met Fran. They were married on Valentine's Day 1987 at the Hill Country Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) of Kerrville, Texas. They retired in Fayetteville, Ark., where Fran had a small practice and volunteered at the Fayetteville Free Clinic for many years. During the last few weeks of her life Fran had trouble breathing. She died of congestive heart failure as a Hospice patient at Butterfield Trail Village. She was a valued member of the Fayetteville Friends Meeting.