Frances Ruth Frank
1930-2024
She is survived by her seven children, James “Jim” (Laila), Alan (Yvette), Edward “Ed” (Beauty), Hal, Merna, Minnie “Leila” (Tom), and Alice; fifteen grandchildren, Keri, Kris, Kevin, Kurtis, Krista, Matthew, Adam, Carla, Jamie, Arusha, Addis, Asmara, Julia, David and Ian; and sixteen great grandchildren.
Frances was born and raised in New Cornwall, Nova Scotia. She had many fond memories of growing up with her parents and siblings, including berry picking and swimming in Caribou Lake in the summer, walking to the one room schoolhouse, and skating on the lake in the winter. While there were many fun times, Frances recounted that such a large family required she be put to work “as soon as she could walk.” Without the aid of modern conveniences, she churned butter, made bread, helped with laundry, mucked out stalls in the barn, and most memorable of all, at age 10 she took on the responsibility of yoking the oxen, hitching them to the wagon, and hauling logs down to the saw mill several miles away. These early experiences gave her a sense of humour and fun, along with a strong, no-nonsense work ethic.
Shortly after she married and had her first child, she joined her husband in Sudbury, Ontario. As their family grew, they built a house on a lake in Naughton, a small subdivision outside of Lively, Ontario. In addition to making a home and raising children, Frances helped cultivate an extensive vegetable garden that fed not only the family, but also people in the local area. Over the years she became known for her sewing skills and took in sewing work until she was offered a job at Marttila Sewing Centre in Sudbury. Frances was absolutely thrilled and very proud to become a wage-earning worker. She had an adventurous spirit and in her 40’s learned to cross country ski. Frances was also an active member of the Waters Mennonite Church in Lively.
In 1980, when Oswald retired from Inco, they moved to Newburne, Nova Scotia, with their two youngest children. She loved living close to her father and siblings again but minded the distance to her older children and grandchildren. Never one for idleness, Frances continued to raise her children, sew and knit, grow gardens, make preserves, help with the woodlots, and support the local Lutheran and Anglican churches. Known as a hard worker, she was hired by the Sanft family to supervise and help with blueberry picking at their Lunenburg County Winery. In addition, she made Christmas wreaths and snared rabbits to sell their fur.
In her 70's, Frances moved back to Ontario, living initially with her daughter Merna in Shelburne, Ontario, then with her son, Ed, in Naughton, Ontario. During this time, she cared for grandchildren, kept house, grew gardens, and made many quilts. She also loved to travel and took many memorable trips within Canada, as well as internationally to England, Poland and Cuba. In the last twelve years, she and her daughter Merna built a house together in Naughton, where she lived the remainder of her life in Merna’s care. In the last few years, she loved watching birds, particularly hummingbirds, at play around the birdfeeder and doing word search puzzles.
Among many other things, Frances will be remembered for the beautiful things she made during her life. There was hardly a craft or type of handiwork that she could not do, or perfect. While she took some night classes, Frances was mainly self-taught. She was a master quilter, an unparalleled seamstress and tailor, prolific knitter of mittens and slippers, maker of jams and preserves, and an extraordinary gardener. Over her lifetime, she made beautiful clothing, created countless quilts, mastered upholstery, restored old trunks, created gorgeous Christmas wreaths, cooked incredible meals, baked many wonderful pies, and grew acres upon acres of plants, flowers, and vegetables.
The family would like to thank Dr. Liisa Levasseur of Lively, Ontario and Bayshore palliative care nurses Julie and Lindsay for their compassion, support and care of Frances and her family during her final days.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Sudbury Food Bank or the Elgin Street Mission, or your local food bank.