Linda "Pug" Trudell Franks

Linda Trudell Millican “Pug” Franks was born in 1945 to Grayce and Carter Millican in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Gadsden AL. Attending first Jacksonville State College and later the University of Alabama majoring in dietetics. It was in Jacksonville where she met her lifelong companion, the love of her life, Jerry D. Franks. She married Jerry in 1966 and was with him as he served in active duty with the Air Force. While in the military, Pug would continue her education wherever he was stationed. Pug finished with a BS in Education from Minot State in the 1970s. She taught in Louisiana and Colorado. When transferred to Florida, the family arrived too late to obtain a teaching position, so she worked as an interior design assistant until she was asked to work on payload cabinets for the space shuttle. Upon completion of that project, she decided to private tutor infants until they were ready for school one or two at a time.

Never called Linda, she was named Pug by her father at the age of four days, and it stuck all through her life. You will find it on school and Church records until college. She was an avid supporter of the Crimson Tide all of her life. She volunteered with the Girl Scouts for over 70 years. She taught Adult Literacy at Opportunities for Adult Literacy in Cleveland and Tennessee. A devoted Christian she is a member of First Baptist Church of Cleveland, Tennessee.

She is preceded by her husband, Jerry Franks; parents, Grayce and Carter Millican, Sr.; brother, Carter Millican, Jr.; and infant fraternal twin sons. She is survived by her two daughters Cindy and Leesa; and her first cousin Donna.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee or the Marjo Dobbs Arseneau Fund at Agnes Scott College, Decatur Georgia.

The family will receive friends at Poole Funeral Home, 3000 Ralph Buckner Blvd; Cleveland, TN on November 4th, 2025 from 11 am to 1 pm. A Memorial Service will follow at 1pm in the chapel with Rev. Tom Wickes officiating. Mrs. Franks will be inurned with her husband at Chattanooga National Cemetery at a later date.