She was a mother, wife, friend.
Married for thirty one years.
She would always see if there was help that she could lend.
Made it through joy, anguish, and tears.

She answered the call to duty and served in the U.S. Air Force.
Then, she went into the Reserves.
She felt that she was on the right course.
For her country, community, friends, and family she always wanted to serve.

She soon got married to a man named Kenneth, who she would go with on many a hiking trip.
Together they raised three children: Jacqueline, Justin, and Briana.
Many breakfast pancakes she had to flip,
in order to keep her children fed.

There were many hours of home schooling.
She taught all three of her children all by herself,
even when they didn’t want to learn and were drooling.
There her pictures are now on that shelf.

She always loved God the most,
always went to church on Sunday.
But, she would always try not to boast.
She prayed every day, even on Monday.

Her children have now gotten older and have gone their separate ways.
They have gone off to college or to a new house.
But their mother was there to welcome them home on different days.
It was time for her children to go out into a new world almost like a grown up mouse.

Her and her “adopted” sisters used to always go to Starbucks,
to talk about life and current issues.
Then she would watch her new born grandson play with his Tonka trucks,
and when he sneezed, she would always tell him to wipe his nose with tissues.

This lady was a big part of the organizing of the Chatnoogan’s For Life.
She would always, when the time came around, help Justin sell boxes of fruit for marching band.
She never let her children play with a sharp knife.
Surely, when she was dying around her was God’s hand.

So this a tribute to a woman so loved and so dear.
Her body is gone but her soul still lives on all around.
Perhaps if you listen closely, her whispers you will hear.
Surely her soul was heaven-bound.

So, try not to cry too much.
After all, she is now in a better place.
She is where you can hear angel’s wings flutter and feel God’s touch.
She has now finished her race.
We will miss you, Fran!