Wednesday, April 4, 2007
I wish to take this opportunity to remember a most special woman, who had, though all too briefly, impacted my life in a way uniquely her own, Florence Frank. My former husband and Florence's eldest son, Francis Frank of Troy, recalled many memories of his beloved mother to me in our seven years together; I consider myself blessed to have been touched by her presence. Francis cared for her and held his mother physically, as well as within his heart, in a capacity that was both beautiful and rare to witness. What he conveyed to me about Florence was a woman with an immense exuberance for life, who had an aura about her that instantly made all that could be wrong right again. Never had she an unkind word to utter, but rather a soothing touch, a smile, along with the purest generosity of spirit and depth of her own spirituality. Francis recalled a mother that possessed an ever-constant desire to live, to love, to give all things good in the most selfless of ways, even in the confines of her own sufferings. It is said that there are those on that carousel of time that ride beside you longer, passing through many a season, while others, sadly, through all but far too few. Despite the difference, they turn forward together, around and around, in one remarkable lifetime intertwined. I know, for Francis, that his bond with his mother will never cease. It will continue forward in a love without end, whether it exists in a feeling inside his heart, or a glance in the mind's mirror of seasons passed. I, myself, will hold my personal memories of Florence dear for the remainder of my own life. May she rest now finally with God on this holiest of weeks. I offer my prayers and deepest condolences to Florence's son, Francis, and the entire Frank family on their tremendous loss. Sincerely, Shannon Martin, South Australia
