Durred Francher is known as the safety guy at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. He’s worked at the proving ground since 1999. In 2011 he became the Explosives Safety Manager and is responsible for examining explosive operations to ensure procedures are executed in the safest manner possible.
As you can imagine it’s a stressful job. To combat that stress Francher takes a creative approach.
“I enjoy making everything, because for me sewing is relaxing, I can sit there, I can concentrate on sewing and forget about everything else and I enjoy it.”
As a child his mother taught him and his siblings to sew. He began sewing and making quilts when he was eight years old, and it came in handy while serving in the military.
“When I joined the military, I basically quit sewing but I did my own patches and my own stuff for my uniforms.”
It became a labor of love once he and his wife Mary had children and grandchildren.
“It wasn’t until I got married and honestly when I had a daughter that I really got back into sewing.”
He made everything from crib sets, burp rags, bibs, pajama sets and clothing to accommodate his tall children.
He adds, “My daughter and my wife have benefited the most from my sewing.”
And now his grandchildren are spoiled by his sewing too.
“My granddaughter and my daughter did the same thing. She wants clothes for her dollies. My granddaughter wanted clothes for her bear, so she has a matching outfit for her bear to match one of her pajama sets.”
Throughout the years Fancher’s creations have made it the performance stages, the alter and pageants. Francher has sewn ballet performance costumes for his daughter when she was a child, he sewed his daughters-in-law’s wedding dress with a matching hooded coat when she married his son who got a matching vest, and he sewed a formal gown for a Miss Hawaii contestant. He’ll tell his favorite project severed a more practical purpose for a young lady when he lived in Dugway, Utah.
“She had a skin disease that just touching her skin caused huge bruises” he explains. “We made a temple dress out of silk and it was lined with silk on the outside and it went all the way down her hand to coverup all of her skin because being out in the sun could cause problems. She and her parents were very appreciative.”
Francher adds, “That’s the type of stuff I enjoy doing. I don’t see it as stressful — it’s fun.”
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