Charles Allen "Bob" France

Charles Allen "Bob" France

November 10, 1940 – August 9, 2025

 

Charles Allen "Bob" France stepped into the gates of heaven on August 9, 2025, at the age of 84. He was born November 10, 1940, in Fontana, California, to Charles Lane France and Juanita Faye Allen France.

 

In 1958, Bob married Joyce Chambers in Chino, California. Together they raised three daughters, Linda, Carrie, and Teresa. Life with Bob was never short on stories. In 1962, he and Joyce bought a farm in Thomasville, Missouri completely sight unseen. With a dream of being a farmer and enough courage to back it up, Bob moved his young family to the Ozarks.

 

The farming years gave way to public service and in 1963, Bob joined the West Plains Fire Department, prompting the family's move from Thomasville to West Plains. A year later, he became a deputy for the Howell County Sheriff's Department under Sheriff Brack Pace, serving until 1968. In the midst of it all, Bob also started the first rural fire department in Howell County.

 

In 1967, Bob founded France Fire Extinguisher Company with $100 and a few fire extinguishers in the trunk of his car. He traveled the region making sales calls and servicing extinguishers. Bob's mix of determination, resourcefulness, and charm grew into a business that remained family owned and operated as France Fire Extinguisher for 56 years. Today it still serves the community under a new name, carrying on the work Bob began.

 

Bob eventually "retired" from France Fire Extinguisher in 1999, with Joyce then taking over the day to day operations, but sitting still never suited him. Soon Bob's Handyman Service was born, keeping him busy and connected to people for nearly 20 more years.

Outside of work, Bob's life was full. He began flying fixed-wing planes in the late 1970s and later took to the skies in gyrocopters in the mid-80s. He was a lifelong Civil War history buff, a devoted collector of guns and knives, and a man who never lost his curiosity for how things worked.

 

Bob was preceded in death by his parents and his beloved grandparents. He is survived by the mother of his girls, Joyce France; daughters Linda France, Carrie McFarland, and Teresa Skinner; grandsons Chris Herbolsheimer, Holt Skinner, and Luke Skinner; brothers Leon France and Mickey France; and several nieces and nephews.

 

A celebration of Bob's life will be held at 6 p.m. on August 21 at the Historic Post Office in West Plains.

 

Bob's story is one of hard work, taking chances, and investing in people. Whether you met him as a young fireman or deputy, a determined salesman, a pilot in the open sky, the handyman who could fix almost anything, or the teller of a truly questionable joke, you knew you had crossed paths with someone unforgettable.

 

He will be fondly remembered and sorely missed.

 

Arrangements by Always Faithful Memorial Services, West Plains, Mo