Mr. Frances was a 1941 graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio and held a master's degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City.
Before the war, he was a news writer for radio station WHK, Cleveland, Ohio, and news director for radio stations in both Canton and Dayton, Ohio. During this period, he served as a stringer for United Press and the Associated Press. During World War II, he was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, as a platoon leader in Bougainville, battalion intelligence officer in Guam, and regimental intelligence officer in Iwo Jima, all while serving in the 21st Regiment, Third Marine Division. He was given the Purple Heart for a battle wound received in Guam and a Presidential Unit Citation for action in Iwo Jima and was in Iwo Jima during the historic flag-raising. In 1964, Mr. Frances went to Zambia as head of an agency for an international development project. There, he provided journalism training for Zambians as head of the communications department at Evelyn Hone College, in Lusaka. Mr. Frances was a veteran of World War II, and was active in political and civic affairs in Chadds Ford Township. He served as an officer in the CIA from 1964 to 1983, serving tours of duty in Zambia, South Vietnam, Taiwan and Washington, D.C., and was given special assignments in Egypt, Iran and Oman. The CIA awarded him the Career Intelligence Medal for career achievement upon his retirement in 1983. In Chadds Ford, Mr. Frances was active in the civic association and annual cleanup drives on township roads and was active in Republican party campaigns. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Chen Frances, a native of Taiwan; and two daughters, Jane Ellen Chaney of Auburn, Wash., and Sara Frances of Denver, Colo. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Karen Elaine Bolin.