Frances Rickleffs

June 9, 1940 - July 10, 2020

Frances Rickleffs, went to be with the Lord unexpectedly on Friday, July 10, 2020 at the age of 80. The daughter of a minister, she was born in Mason City, Iowa. The family moved to Independence, KN., Knoxville, TN., Mesa, AZ. and finally San Bruno, CA. Frances graduated from Capuchino H.S. in San Bruno, in 1958 and from there attended Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, majoring in psychology. Upon returning home, she met her husband of 59 years, Robert Rickleffs, on a blind date. After 3 short months of courtship they were married by her father, then traveled to Utah for Bob to attend graduate school and then returned back to San Bruno to make their first home. Shortly thereafter, Bob’s work transferred him to Lompoc, hence their second home, where they started their family. 8 years later, in 1973, they made their final move to San Ramon, where they’ve lived for the past 47 years. Frances was an active member of John Knox Presbyterian Church, Dublin, where she served as Deacon, lent her beautiful voice to the choir, played the piano, organ, and occasionally the flute. Her love of music melded with her passion for teaching. While teaching flute and giving piano lessons to students after school, she worked for the SRVUSD for over 30 years. Frances was a Para Educator teaching Special Education students until she retired in 2005. As with all her students, school and musical alike, she was part teacher, part counselor. The interest she took in their lives made them feel special. Frances lived a fulfilling life. She genuinely loved people, befriending all she encountered. She loved living…enjoying shopping and going to Starbucks, (or having Starbucks come to her, as was the case for the last few years). Her contagious smile and outgoing personality touched the lives of all she met, making her easy to remember and hard to forget. Frances is preceded in death by her parents Rev. Roy and Jean Peyton. She is survived by her husband Robert, her brother David (Nancy) Peyton, 3 children: James Rickleffs, Cheryl Collins, Brian (Nora) Rickleffs and grandson Brady Rickleffs. A private scattering of her ashes will take place on Sept. 9th at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo. A Memorial service/celebration of life will be held at a future date due to Covid-19. Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) or a charity of your choosing.