Birth date: Oct 18, 1930 Death date: May 22, 2022
Wilma Kathryn Franco (Kathie) passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 22, 2022, at age 91. She was surrounded by family. Kathie was born on October 18, 1930, in Seattle, Washington, the only Read Obituary
Mom, a beautiful lady through and through.
To My Grandmother,
I have known you all my life as most children know their grandparents. However in my case there is something quite different and indeed special. While the average kid sees his grandparents a few times a year, I spent a great amount of time with you since I was only an infant. In fact, my first and earliest memory of life is of you, holding me and waving goodbye as Mom and Dad went to work, at a time when I was less than 1.
Another of my earlier remembered moments comes from the luscious garden in your Portland home. I greatly enjoyed running through the bushes, although to me they seemed like, and I remember them as, forests. As you see, the only two memories I have of our life in Oregon both involve you.
I remember when mom was carrying Tara and was bedridden. You raised me during this time. We filled the days with roll-the-ball back and forth and games of Go Fish. As I aged, my endeavors multiplied. When I first took to the stage, you rehearsed with us. When I performed, you always came and supported me. This talent which I inherited from you, that which I honed with you, even reached to the big screen, achieving not only small film roles, but appearing in a major Netflix production. I am grateful not only for your support, but that you were there and able to share in these triumphs. After all, without you they would not have been possible.
I enjoyed the comfort and company you brought us. I enjoyed the discussions we had, both deep and comical, and I took great joy in the winters we spent together when the rest of the family was away. We always had each other, not only for companionship, but for support as well.
I would have had it no other way, than to grow up and live with you, sharing so much of my life with you. You were kind, compassionate, interesting, humorous, and perhaps above all, giving. It must be stated and said that your legacy with me will always be as the most generous person I know. One who volunteers help without hesitation, one who offers financial support without so much as a second thought, and one who would give as much of her time as necessary to her family. You’ve led by example, you've warmed our home and lives, and perhaps most of all, you taught us the importance of togetherness and family. We will always love you. I will always love you.
Your Grandson,
Cole
Mom was the kindest, most giving, always ready to help you at a moment's notice individual one would ever know. There was no sacrifice she wouldn't readily make to help the people she loved and cared about. She also cared about animals and numerous humanitarian causes, and she regularly donated out of her widow's mite to help them all. She was a good neighbor in the true sense of the phrase. She firmly believed in ethics, integrity, family values, and the Lord whom she faithfully served all of her life -- in trials as well as in the good times. She was a good citizen and always did her part to help her country or community. Mom was extremely talented, from stage acting, to modeling, to painting, drawing, ceramic tiling, gardening, landscaping, or whatever the artistic outlet -- she could always take the ordinary and make it into something extraordinary. Mom was also a skilled electronics technician and worked for years building circuitry for navy ships and high tech security systems. While she was fashionable, poised, and always appropriate, she had a straightforwardness that was refreshing. She would tell it like it is and call a spade a spade. Mom believed that doing what was right was more important than being a people pleaser. And if she had to put up a fight in order to right a wrong, she would do it with gusto. She gave me a love for nature and hiking, for the ocean and all things coastal, and to take good care of things. She taught to me love God, love family, and enjoy the simple pleasures in life that are really the biggest ones after all. She left a legacy of love and decency that I will carry in my heart forever, and can only hope to emulate in some small way. Thank you for being such a blessing in everyone's life who knew you, and especially in mine.
When I think of Mrs. Franco, a smile comes to my face. I first met her at age 14 and she treated me with respect and kindness. She was fine china and lace tablecloths, delicate and dainty, proper and refined. But she was warm, and gentle, kind and generous, quick to smile and laugh her little laugh. She was a mom who felt the pain of the loss of a child, yet was always reaching out to others who were in need of comfort. She was quick to be motherly to a group of young teens who to often tested her patience. She built bridges of love and care that would last lifetimes.
Looking back on my early years, there were a handful of people who I knew truly cared for me, people that I knew prayed for me often and were invested in my success. I can still remember her hugs of reassurance, her smiles of support, and the way she always made me feel more mature than I was. You always left her presence feeling uplifted and encouraged. In 1989 when my future wife wanted to move to Portland to be close, there was Mrs. Franco, offering a place to stay, a safe haven for a time. Now after 32 years of marriage, grown kids and grandkids of our own, we still remember her with fondness, grateful for the role she played in our lives.
Our love to Kelli, Joe and the grandkids. May God keep her, until we meet again.
Rob & Tina Slocum
