Frances Lorene GingrichChanute, KS

Frances Lorene Gingrich of Chanute, Kansas, passed away of natural causes at the age of 89 on October 14, 2026 at Heritage Health Care in Chanute. Lorene was born in Schulter, Oklahoma as the second of five children to James Finas Harvey and Martha Jane (Hodge) Harvey on December 8, 1936. She attended Schulter High School where she played basketball and worked on the school newspaper, graduating in 1954. Lorene married Lloyd Gingrich of Okmulgee, Oklahoma on February 27, 1954 in Eufaula, Oklahoma, then moved to Okmulgee where she worked as a telephone operator while Lloyd worked at the Safeway grocery store. She and Lloyd had a daughter, Paula, in Okmulgee. The family moved to Nevada, Missouri where two sons, Barry and Cory, were born and where she continued to work as a telephone operator. The family ultimately moved to Chanute, where Lorene and Lloyd owned Lloyd’s Sewing Center for many years. After Mr. Gingrich passed away in 1986, Lorene continued running the business, then moved on to work as a bookkeeper for Gray Lumber and as a switchboard operator at Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center. Lorene loved her family, friends, and pets. She also loved listening to all kinds of music, playing cards, playing slots, and watching sports. She especially enjoyed watching the Chiefs, Royals, Jayhawks, and Sooners. She was a member of the First Christian Church in Chanute. She will be dearly missed.

Lorene was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her siblings (Martha) Pauline Kenyon, John James Harvey, Ruth Ann Harvey, and (Mollie) Faye Horn. She is survived by her three children, Paula Gingrich of Chanute, Barry Gingrich of Broomfield, Colorado, Cory Gingrich of Chanute as well as her sister-in-law Sonja Harvey, brother-in-law David Horn, and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at the First Christian Church on Friday, October 23rd with the family greeting friends from 1:00pm to 2:00pm. Funeral services will immediately follow. Mrs. Gingrich will be interred alongside her husband in Chanute’s Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements have been entrusted to Countryside Funeral Home.