Frances Elizabeth Proffitt Rowell

November 2, 1925 - January 22, 2022

Frances Elizabeth Proffitt Rowell, age 96, was born November 2, 1925, in Sullivan Country, Tennessee, and passed away Saturday, January 22, 2022, at her home in Bristol, Tennessee. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thelma Russell Proffitt and Albert Lawrence Proffitt, her husband of 57 years Joseph Waverly Rowell and her brother Al Proffitt. After graduating from Tennessee High School, she continued her education at Virginia Intermont College and graduated with a B.S. Degree in Home Economics from the University of Tennessee where she was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and was honored for academic excellence as a member of The Mortar Board and Phi Kappa Phi. On September 11, 1948, she was married to Joseph Rowell. They lived in several cities while he pursued his career in professional baseball. In 1952, they established their home in Bristol. Frances loved Joe more than anything in this world. Together they had an incredible life. After settling down in Bristol, in addition to everyday life, they enjoyed camping with their four boys, and after Joes’ retirement, many years of travel in their motor home. They also took the entire family (19 at one time) on multiple cruises and vacations. Frances was a wonderful mother, cook, talented homemaker and grandmother. And not a bad tennis player. She was devoted to the Lord and her church and making sure her family was there every Sunday. She loved her sons, their wives, grandchildren and great grandchildren immensely. Frances remained active well into her ‘90’s enjoying walking, travel, visits with the neighbors and bridge with her many friends. She was able to transition from her earthly life exactly as she had prayed for, in her own bed, in the home she and Joe built for the family in 1955. Our family is so grateful. Mrs. Rowell’s interests were mostly in her four sons and their families. As a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church, she enjoyed working with the youth there. She was a former member of the Border Guild/Junior League of Bristol, the Blue Stocking Club and the Salvation Army Advisory Board. She was an active member of the 1900 Literary Club and was a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. Survivors include her four sons, Joseph Stephen Rowell and his wife Nancy of Winston-Salem, NC and their daughter Kathryn (her husband Brenton) and their son Jeff (his fiancée Annie); Albert Brent Rowell and his wife Phantipa (“Al”) of Lexington, KY and their daughter Andrea; John Waverly Rowell and his wife Kathleen of Valle Crucis, NC and their children Grey (his wife Maria), Logan (his wife Caroline) and Thomas; and David Francis Rowell and his wife Lisa of Winston-Salem, NC and their children Michael (his wife Jessica), Emily (her fiancé Jack) and Nathan; four great grandsons and a great granddaughter due in July. Frances will be laid to rest beside her beloved Joe following a private committal service in Glenwood Cemetery. Her life will be celebrated at 11:00 am Saturday, February 5, 2022, at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Dr. Sam Weddington and Rev. Dr. Dave Welch officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the church fellowship hall. The family requests that masks be worn. The love and devotion she received from her caregiving angels, Debbie Lowry, Barbara Good, Donna White and Sheila Frasier, and Becky and David Luther and her other amazing neighbors and friends will always be remembered by the family. In lieu of food and flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to First Presbyterian Church, The Salvation Army or the Joe and Frances Rowell Scholarship Fund at Wake Forest University. Mrs. Rowell and her family are in the care of Oakley-Cook Funeral Home and Crematory, 2223 Volunteer Parkway, Bristol, Tennessee, Telephone 423-764-7123.