Rockford Woman Crochets for Preemies Like It's a Full-Time Job

This week's Hometown Hero is still helping others well into retirement, on a full-time basis.

Meet Fran K, of Rockford

Fran was nominated to be a Hometown Hero by her longtime friend, Melba. She explains all the things Fran has done in the lifetime, from volunteering as a Girl Scout leader, helping at church, and her years and years of donating blood. Melba describes Fran as a "helper for life."

I remember her volunteering to be a Girl Scout leader and liaison for Church School. In the 70’s. She has given gallons of blood over many years. Now that she is disabled and has her 6 children raised, she is crocheting hats for school kids and preemies (blankets also) everyday as if it were a full-time job. Occasionally she asks for yarn from friends and family, so she has something to keep her busy. She is 88 years old and still putting others first.

Fran seems like a sweet heart, the kind of person we all want in our lives. If someone in your life, like Fran, has a passion for helping others, we need to know. We're always on the lookout for the heroes in your community. Of course, we know there are men and women in uniform and on the frontlines of medicine who certainly qualify as heroes. We also know there are women, men, and children, who are selflessly helping others and bringing positivity to those around them. For that reason, being a Q98.5 Hometown Hero is open to all.

As a Q98.5 Hometown Hero, Fran will receive a $100 Amazon gift card thanks to Gustafson's Furniture & Mattress. Although we're certain she won't spend it on herself, whatever she uses it for will bring joy to someone, and that's what life is all about. (I'm guessing it will be used on yarn.)

You can nominate your Hometown Hero HERE.

LOOK: Milestones in women's history from the year you were born

Women have left marks on everything from entertainment and music to space exploration, athletics, and technology. Each passing year and new milestone makes it clear both how recent this history-making is in relation to the rest of the country, as well as how far we still need to go. The resulting timeline shows that women are constantly making history worthy of best-selling biographies and classroom textbooks; someone just needs to write about them.

Scroll through to find out when women in the U.S. and around the world won rights, the names of women who shattered the glass ceiling, and which country's women banded together to end a civil war.

JB Love is ½ of Q98.5's Lil Zim & JB In The Morning, weekday mornings from 5:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram.