Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Francesca (Fran) Annjolee Heflin, 41, of Greenville, succumbed to her brave battle with cancer on Friday, June 5, 2020.

She is survived by her husband, James Richard (J.R.) Rishel; her mother, Susan Rae Moore (Archie); three aunts, Sandi Friel and Sherri Dembinski (Walter, JR, deceased), both of Columbus, Ohio, and Stephanie Hayes-Harris (Scott), of Washington; sister, Rhonda Marquess (Bob) and niece, Diamond McClurg (Barry), of Morgantown, West Virginia; four cousins, Christopher Dembinski and Nick Dembinski (Chrissy), both of Columbus, Ohio, and Tiana Harris and Shelby Harris, of North Carolina; father, Thomas Heflin, of N.C.; three sisters, Joy and Jessica, of Kentucky, and Jennifer, of N.C.; and her step-children, Stephanie Heaton (Chris), of Mississippi, and James Rishel Jr. (Kat), of N.C. She is preceded in death by her maternal grandmother, Virginia Hayes, 90, who recently passed away April 28, 2020, and grandfather, (Ret) Lt. Col. Dale Hayes, both of Elkins, West Virginia.

Fran was born in Elkins on March 28, 1979. She moved to Aurora in 1990 with her mother, a retired Spanish teacher from Southside High School in Beaufort County. Fran was an honors graduate from Aurora High School in 1997. Fran graduated from ECU in 2001 with a major in Communications and a minor in English. Fran was employed by Penco Products in Greenville as an Inside Sales Representative for eight years. Prior to that she worked for WITN in Washington for six years. She was a member of Holy Cross Episcopal Church where she served as an acolyte in her younger years. Her husband J.R. is currently employed by Blue Ox Trucking in Greenville.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Vidant Cancer Care Center, c/o of Vidant Health Foundation, 690 Medical Dr, Greenville, NC 27834 or online at www.vidanthealthfoundation.com.

Arrangements are by Smith Funeral Service & Crematory. Online condolences may be expressed at www.smithfcs.com.