Diane Marie Francis
Nov. 25, 1938 – Dec. 30, 2008
My mom died this morning. My sister called last night to tell me that she was in the hospital. This morning she called to say that “Mom is gone”. Strange words those. They keep echoing in my mind. I can hear my sister’s voice, the tone, the breath, the tears, the sadness. “Mom is gone.” So final. It’s all so final. I knew – we all knew that she would eventually let go of this world. I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. She had cancer – the kind that infiltrates vital organs in your body like your liver, colon, intestines and others. We found out only a few months ago that she has, had cancer, and now she is gone. “Mom is gone.” I can still hear my sister’s voice.
The tears won’t stop. I don’t know if they will ever stop, and I don’t care if they ever do.
She wasn’t a woman who left behind a legacy of worldly exploits or incredible feats of daring. She was my mom. She could make me feel better about most anything by saying “Don’t be sad Shar, everything will be okay.” She was strong, funny, goofy, smart, out-going, creative, kind, caring, generous, loving, and a realm of so much more. She could write beautiful poetry and insanely offbeat stories, and just recently I found out that she could sing. I love my mother. The legacy she left behind is her children. We are all alike in so many ways and yet so extremely different. In her youngest daughter, Chrissy, she left her strength and her caring. In me, her middle daughter Sharon, she left her creativity and goofiness. In her oldest daughter Cindy, she left her kindness and generous heart. And in her only son Billy, she left her humor and gregariousness. To all of us, she left her never-ending love.
If I close my eyes, I can hear her voice, “Don’t be sad Shar, everything will be okay.”

Billy, Cindy, Mom, Sharon and Chrissy Thanksgiving 2008