Frances D. Causey, 92, loved ballroom dancing

Frances Causey didn’t let age hinder her passion for ballroom dancing.

She took to the dance floor when she was in her 70s, after teaching in Atlanta’s public schools and being a wife and homemaker with three children.

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A latecomer to the ballroom floor, Frances D. Causey enjoyed not just the dancing but the custom-made costumes.

Mrs. Causey “was light on her feet,” said a daughter, Gail Geary of Sandy Springs. “She could do it all, and she didn’t start until she was in her 70s. I still have her costumes in my closet. I have dance dresses of hers that were all custom-made. They are just gorgeous.”

Frances Dominick Causey, 92, of Smryna and formerly of Decatur, died Nov. 24 of natural causes at Delmar Gardens. The funeral is 11 a.m. Friday at the Sandy Springs chapel of Sandy Springs Chapel Funeral Directors, which is handling arrangements.

When Mrs. Causey started ballroom dancing, she took lessons at a shuttered Fred Astaire studio on Cheshire Bridge Road. She liked any dance style — the waltz, mambo, tango, cha-cha and fox trot.

Her talents didn’t end on the dance floor, either. She also could sing. Because of her love for Broadway show tunes, her daughter recently bought her a recording of “South Pacific.”

“Even in the last two weeks, I would play it for her and she would belt out the tunes,” her daughter said. “She had a very good voice.”

Mrs. Causey graduated in 1937 from the University of Georgia, where she majored in physical education and education and also took part in the school’s modern dance team.

She taught briefly in Atlanta Public Schools before she devoted herself to family.

Mrs. Causey was twice widowed. Her first husband, Frank William Gilson, was killed in World War II. Her second husband, Robert Bowman Causey, died in a train accident.

She also suffered the loss of her middle child, Neal Causey. “She had three big losses to contend with,” her daughter said.

One of Mrs. Causey’s favorite shows was “Dancing With the Stars.” She didn’t just watch; she critiqued performers.

Mrs. Causey’s daughter admits she’d never be the dancer that her mother was, despite being “a real good jitter-bugger.”

Additional survivors include a son, Richard Causey of Santa Barbara, Calif.; a sister, Vera Legg of Atlanta; a brother, Gerald Dominick of Largo, Fla.; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.