Frances Crutcher Alexander

FRANCES CRUTCHER ALEXANDER

Ida Frances Crutcher Alexander, age 70 of Fayette, died Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at her residence. At Frances’s request, there will not be a traditional funeral service. A come-and-go celebration of life reception for all friends and family will take place on Sunday,  Nove. 16,  from 2 –4  p.m. in the fellowship hall of Fayette First Methodist Church. Norwood-Wyatt Chapel will be directing the service.
Ida Frances Crutcher Alexander was born in Fayette on July 9, 1955, to John Parker Crutcher, Jr. and Lucy Tarwater Crutcher. She was a 1974 graduate of Fayette County High School. After graduation, she moved to Searcy, Ark., for a short time before relocating to Sterling, Ill. There, she worked at a developmental center for children with special needs, which ignited her passion to pursue a degree in special education. She completed her degree at the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss.
After receiving her degree, Frances was employed by the Fayette County Board of Education as a special education teacher. She later worked in a group home for adults with disabilities located in Fayette. Continuing her education, she attended Brewer State Junior College’s Nursing School and became a registered nurse. Frances fulfilled her calling to help others by working as a psychiatric nurse at both Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility and Bryce Hospital. Toward the end of her nursing career, she served as a home health psychiatric nurse.
Frances loved spending time with her family and close friends, many of whom she considered family. She had a deep love for animals, and it came as no surprise that she cared for and adopted several dogs with special needs. She enjoyed fishing at her family’s lake house, and her laughter could fill a room. The unique bond she shared with her grandson, John, was undeniably special. Frances deeply loved and adored her children.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John Parker Crutcher Jr. and Lucy Irick Tarwater Crutcher; a brother, John Vandiver Crutcher; a sister-in-law, Dorothy (Dot) Stewart Crutcher; and a son, Zachary Kenan Massey.
Survivors include her daughter, Victoria (Kain) Bertinot; grandsons, Parker Collier and John Kenan Murff; nieces, Julie Crutcher Morgan (Tim), Luci Crutcher Broaddrick (Bret), and Susan Crutcher Clements (Tim); nephew, Jim Crutcher; as well as several great-nieces and great-nephews.