Claudia's Comments from Sunday Program

Fran and I were friends and professional colleagues for ten wonderful years. While there is much sadness at his passing I know that he would want us to celebrate his life and accomplishments instead of mourning. In the past few days I have been remembering all the endearing qualities that he had and want to share some of the memories I will keep forever.

Fran was one of the most gentle and kind humans I have ever known. He was a student of Zen Buddhism and practiced many of its teaching in his daily life. Buddhists believe that suffering can be ended by following the eightfold path: right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right contemplation. As I reflect on the way Fran lived each day, I can see that he embraced this path in everything that he did.

Fran always put great effort into his work. He was a perfectionist and could not allow any work that he did to have flaws. Each year when he worked for hours and days on the budgets, he wanted to be sure that they would not be rejected when they were presented to me. He always prepped the managers for their final budget review and tried to prepare them for the questions I would have. Many of the leadership team learned all they ever knew about budgeting and staffing from Fran. He called it his Budgeting 101 course. Because of Fran every manager knows how to read and interpret financial data.

Fran was also the best patient and family advocate that Mercy Hospital has ever had. Whenever there were difficult family situations, Fran would immediately intervene and was able to defuse family angst and heal relationships. Fran always provided these families with all his contact information so that they could call him 24 hours a day. And they did. Through his caring and diligence and sometimes much interrupted sleep, Fran was a positive force in assuring advocacy for patients and families was practiced on a daily basis.

Fran always remembered staff on special occasions in their lives and was there for them when staff needed support through personal or professional crises. He truly cared for every person. He was the main chef at our leadership Christmas and Spring parties and took great pride in his culinary skills. His fried turkeys, barbeque ribs, garlic mashed potatoes, and dip were the highlight of a number of parties. And when the parties were over he made sure that the left over food was sent back to the hospital for staff. Fran was happiest when he could bring his family together for one of his great cook outs at his home and he would share the joy of those occasions with us.

One of Fran's most endearing qualities was his unique way of expressing his take on events. I wish I had written down all of the sayings that he had because they described what was happening to a T. He often said that he did not want to be the bug on the windshield when there was a crisis brewing that needed immediate attention. He often averted disaster through quick intervention. Fran could talk the ears off of a fly. I often asked him to give me the succinct version of a story as he would often give you the whole book instead of the preface. If you asked Fran for directions he would provide a tour of the building so that you would not lose your way should you wander into an unfamiliar area instead of the most direct route to your destination. Fran knew so much that he wanted to share all that he could. In his own gentle way he wanted to be sure that you had all the information that you would ever need.

The most beautiful thing about Fran was his love and devotion for his wife, Irma. The daily calls Irma made to Fran would light up his eyes when they came in. He always took the calls and though they may be brief they gave him a lift and he could face whatever the day held knowing that the love of his life was thinking about him and took the time to call.

How can you describe someone who gave his life trying to do all the right things? All of us have special memories of Fran that will be held dear. In closing there is a chapter in the Tao Te Ching about cultivating harmony that I think describes the way Fran believed and lived:
Cultivate harmony within yourself, and harmony becomes real
Cultivate harmony within your family, and harmony becomes fertile
Cultivate harmony within your community and harmony becomes abundant
Cultivate harmony within your culture and harmony becomes enduring
Cultivate harmony within the world and harmony becomes ubiquitous.

Wherever Fran went his goal was to cultivate harmony and that is how I will always remember him.