Francis Denisa Mitchell-Ware

Francis Denisa Mitchell-Ware was born on June 22, 1955 to Delores and Otis Rankin. Shortly after her birth, Francis became the daughter of Fredrick and Frazine Mitchell of Biloxi, Ms. She attended A.E. Perkins Elementary School, Nichols High School, and was one of the first African Americans to desegregate, and graduate with honors from Biloxi High School. As a young adult, Francis distinguished herself in the area of Business by becoming one of the first “Gayfer Girls” for Gayfers—a southern retail department store giant. Francis also worked as a bonded associate for a childcare agency which serviced the booming hotel and entertainment industry along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In 1970, Francis was accepted for admission to the renowned Fisk University in Nashville, TN. There, she was to become a medical doctor…or at “least meet and marry one.” After attending Fisk for two years, Francis convinced her father that she did not wish to do either. She was encouraged to come back home. Back in Biloxi, she became a Certified Scrub Nurse, but decided shortly afterwards that there was “too much gore and pressure!” Francis then began working in customer service for the Kroger grocery chain. By 1987, she had become one of the first African American, female Store Managers in Mississippi. Francis was associated with Kroger for some 20 years working in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Michigan Working for the state of Louisiana, and Mt. Olivet- Dignity Funeral Services in New Orleans. She believed her employment with the New Orleans Children’s Defense Fund to be most impactful and meaningful. Francis married John E. Ware, her 9th grade sweetheart, in 1987. Francis became mother and mentor of many college students through her husband of 33 years, a Professor of Music at Xavier University of Louisiana. She loved to cook for these students, her family, and many friends. She took pride in setting a formal table in her home and making sure that the students learned the proper utensils to be used for each entre’. In 1991, Lahiri Cameron-Mitchell Ware was added to John and Francis’ union. Cameron, her only child, was the apple of her eye and her pride and great joy. In 1982, Francis dedicated her life to Jehovah and was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. When she passed on March 11, 2021, she was active in the Algiers Congregation on the West Bank of New Orleans. There she cherished her brothers and sisters and her work for Jehovah’s Kingdom. Especially close to her heart, were Virgil and Jessie Ward, Demarius and Calvinetta Nettles, and her daily (hourly) phone friend Sharvonne, and her husband Philip Johnson. In addition to her Kingdom family, Francis leaves to cherish her memory her beloved neighbors, Rev. Oliver and Cheryl Carter, and her next-door neighbors, the Perique Family. Francis will also be remembered by her surviving birth sisters and brothers--Betty Rankin Evans, Dianne Rankin Taylor, Ursula “Tina” Rankin Staten, Don Rankin, and Bishop Otis Rankin, Jr.—all of whom have traveled the world, and now reside on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Francis Mitchell-Ware was fully established and well-beloved in her husband’s extensive family…all of whom loved her, and who will miss her. A graveside memorial service will be held at Biloxi City Cemetery on Monday, April 5, 2021 at 10:00 am. A Service of Remembrance will be held online with ZOOM on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 4:00 pm. Meeting ID: 863 3314 0419 and Passcode: 218285. Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home on Howard Avenue in Biloxi is honored to serve the Ware family.