At that point, he began taking a number of different treatments. Fortunately, by that time, a number of options became available for myeloma patients. Fran had most of them – thalidomide, velcade, revlimid, and combinations with steroids. But the myeloma was becoming very aggressive, and in early 2007, he underwent a second transplant. During his first one in 1997, additional stem cells were harvested and frozen, just in case a second transplant would be needed. The doctors used those stem cells for his second transplant, but the procedure was not very effective this time – 2007 was not a good year for Fran. He really never recovered from that second transplant, and he died during the spring. But his spirit and courage never waned. I can remember talking with him two days before he passed away. I asked him how he was doing. He said, “Fine, I’m doing fine.” Fran always said he was fine. I never had a conversation with him when he failed to say how fine he was feeling, and from his perspective and in his world, he was always fine – even when he was clinging to life in the Intensive Care Unit. It is little wonder that his two grandsons, Philip and Spencer, just ten and seven years old, spent time with him during these precious hours and told him about all the that he had done for them and how much they appreciated him. They loved their trip to Disney World, and they always had fun washing his antique cars.

Fran taught us all how to live, even during those days when life was slipping away from himself. And for Kathy, Fran was truly the love of her life, but she does say that she’ll never try roller skating again.