Hattie Marie Hibma Frost, 104, peacefully entered her Lord's presence on Friday, January 10, 2020. She was born on December 1, 1915, the third of ten children of Nick and Anna (Jansma) Hibma in Harris, Iowa. For over 74 years, Marie was the loving and supportive wife of Rev. Eugene A. Frost, Sr., who preceded her in death on November 20, 2018.

Marie is survived by her brother Ervin (Viola) Hibma, and children Sharon (Joseph) Ritchie, Linda (Steven) Easterling, Eugene (Barbara) Frost, Jr., Kay (Randolph) York, and Mark (Norine) Frost. She leaves a legacy of loving care for 20 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

Marie is preceded in death by her siblings Kathryn, Pierce, Leone, Clarence, Donald "Buddy", Elmer, Ray, and Phyllis; son-in-law Kenneth Bosgraf; and granddaughters Katherine Hope Ritchie and Margaret Hope York.

Long before Nike, "Just Do It" was a driving philosophy in Marie's life. Following an arrival in Chicago as an Iowa farm girl in the 1940s with nothing but a teaching degree, she sang with Phil Spitalny's All Girl Orchestra and also in a radio trio for Moody Bible Institute. She paid her children's tuition by writing Sunday school curriculums for Scripture Press, David C. Cook and Standard Publishing. One of her bosses called her "the most creative person I have ever met." She wrote many books including "What Happens When Women Care," "The High Cost of Divorce," and "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" (another core philosophy of her life). She created a number of preschools in Illinois and wrote two preschool curriculums, Winkie Bear (named for a nursery bear with a missing button eye) and then Peter Panda. Her Hattie stories about her childhood won a book award. She taught art and in her 80s and 90s took up oil painting.

She was the life of the party--at times scatterbrained (served her husband a glass of vinegar instead of apple cider because there WAS a picture of an apple on the front...) with a terrible sense of direction (asked for directions to her home—at her next door neighbor's house) and not afraid of talking to anyone.

Marie was a bold, natural evangelist, teacher, and public speaker with a winsome way of sharing her faith in Christ and a gift for generous hospitality and friendship. It was not uncommon for her to invite a dozen people over to her house for Sunday dinner. Or to bring people to live with the family when they needed a home.  She is meeting many in heaven who came to know Jesus because of her and her pastor husband's care and ministry at West Chicago Bible Church 1948-1961; Westminster Presbyterian Church, Elgin, 1961-67; Church of the Open Door, Wheaton 1967-75; Cherry Hills Baptist, Springfield 1975-1981; First Baptist Church of Big Rock 1984-2011, also 2011 to 2017 as Sunday school teachers.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, February 1, 10:00 a.m. followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Big Rock, 201 Lincoln, Big Rock, IL 60511. Interment will follow at the Welsh Cemetery, Rhodes St., Big Rock.

Memorial gifts may be directed to Huntley Brown Ministries, 2112 W. Galena Blvd., PMB A 285, Aurora, IL 60506.