Frances Marilyn (Heinisch) Roberts

My Mother…A Legacy of Love Frances Marilyn Roberts Frances was born on Oct.06, 1929 in the Bronx; historically, the year of the great Depression.She was the only child of Anna and Frederick Heinisch. Her father was a custodian for the NYC school system. Her mother was a professional piano teacher and gave piano lessons in their apartment on Valentine Ave. Frances learned to play the piano and loved the Ragtime music of Scott Joplin. We remember going to grandma’s house and watching the ivory keys of the old- time player piano magically play on its own.Frances was artistic and attended the Parson School of Design to study fashion couture. I remember benefiting from that training as a little girl when my mom sewed designer gowns for my Barbie dolls.Frances was practical and studied secretarial skills and excelled in Gregg shorthand. She worked as an executive secretary for several attorneys in Manhattan and later when the family moved to the suburbs. Frances met my father, Robert Elliot Roberts at City Island, where her father had a small outboard motor boat. My mother was an avid swimmer. My Dad was in the Maritime service and was there on leave. Thus began their love story.After, the Maritime service, Bob Roberts was a bookkeeper at the Bronx terminal market,. He worked on their books at night, and his college books by day. Dad attended City College and earned a Masters in Education. He worked as a mathematics and career counselor at a High School in the South Bronx. Together they shared a love of reading and life- long learning.Fran and Bob had two children, Roberta Lee and Jay Lance. My brother, Jay was born at home in the apt. on Grant Ave. Our dad delivered him and it made the front page of the NY Post. They said he used a nautical knot to tie the umbilical cord. That Naval training really came in handy!On week-ends, the family went to our grandparents summer cottage up in the country, in Putnam county.. Mom’s father, Fred built most of it himself . Her mother, Anna, gave the house to Frances when grandpa died. My Dad winterized the cottage and we moved in. While Dad commuted to the city, Frances took drivers lessons on the back woods dirt roads and got her driver’s license at age 40. Frances started to work for Graymoor Atonement Friars in Garrrison, a short mile from our home.She was the executive secretary for the priests and nuns at New Hope Manor and Mother Lurana Villa. Frances worked for Father Dan Egan, also known as ‘the junkie priest’ who rescued young women addicted to drugs from the city , bringing them up to the retreat at Graymoor. Here they rebuilt their lives and recovery from addiction. Frances became their house mother, sharing in this powerful transformative ministry. Here is where, Frances became devoted to the Church and was baptized Catholic. Frances converted from Judaism and led the way for her children who also were baptized at Graymoor in our teens.Frances was dedicated to the mission of New Hope Manor and followed the program when it moved to Barryville NY, near Port Jervis. She commuted every week, working tirelessly on site with the young women and staff, returning home on the week-ends. One of the highlights in her life was accompanying Sister Margaret Murphy, assistant director of the program overseas on a pilgrimage to the Vatican and the Shrine at Lourdes.When Frances retired from the Archdiocese after 35 years, she was awarded a plaque that she received as the highest honor; it read; “To Frances, for 35 years of Loving Us.”Frances was an avid reader, devouring 7 books a week. She was a lover of the mystery novel genre; some of her favorite authors Agatha Chrystie, Elizabeth Petersen and Mary Higgins Clark. She was a regular at the Peekskill library with stacks of books waiting for her weekly at the reserve desk. When mom moved to the nursing home, at Cedar Manor, the recreation staff made special trips to the Ossining library for her and delivered armfuls of the large print volumes, she so loved, to her room each week. It was almost impossible to pick a title that she had yet to read. But even then, mom would graciously accept any book,with sincere gratitude and say, ‘that’s alright dear, I’ll just read it again.”Mom loved the beauty of words; she was a wiz at doing crossword puzzles, from the difficulty of the Sunday NY Times to solving the Daily N ews jumble. She was my go- to consult for proper grammar and vocabulary- I would call her if I was looking for a synonym or the correct spelling of a word. I sure will miss those calls Mom.My mother was very proud of us: from my brother’s athletic prowess at Little League to his successful growth and development as a father. She was proud to be the mother of a nurse, and would sign her name on every card and note she wrote to me as ‘MRN”, mother of an RN.Frances also endured hardships and heartbreak during her lifetime, as all of us have. She dealt with these times , with quiet grace and dignity.Our parents separated and Dad moved to Hollywood, Florida to be nearer his sister, Judy and nieces, Debbie and Rita Durst. They all loved “Aunt Frances” dearly and remained close though calls and cards.One day ,on Frances’ 49th birthday, she decided to buy a bicycle. While she was at the laundromat , she went next door to a used bike store. She met the shopkeeper, Herb Edelman, who offered to deliver the bike. That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. We shared many wonderful times over the years with Herb’s children, Ronni and Jay Edelman. Our combined family gatherings brought new joy and laughter to Frances’ life.We remember celebrating the many birthdays, holidays with our extended family at the lakehouse and later in the “gingerbread cottage” at Vails Gate in New Windsor after she sold the house in Garrison and moved to be closer to Jay and his family in Newburgh.Mom enjoyed the impromptu barbecues at Oscawana Lake at Herb’s place. We all loved the lake and especially seeing Frances, out rowing or pedaling in her paddleboat.My mother loved the sea; we shared many happy hours by the water; whether it was taking a sailboat cruise on the Soundwaters schooner out of Stamford, or a ferry to the Sheffield Island Lighthouse in Norwalk, CT. We took many long mother –daughter weekend trips over the years to Cape May and Newport, Rhode Island. My husband, John , loved to see my mother sitting on the boardwalk , watching us ride our bikes, at Ocean Grove New Jersey.When she was no longer able to travel with us, we would bring a cell phone to the beach and walk to the ocean’s edge. I would call and say hi Mom, guess where we are? I could hear her delight as she answered, ‘I hear the waves, you’re at Ocean Grove!”Frances loved cats and she was a wonderful grandmother to her Grandchild kitty, Scampi.But nothing compares to the indescribable joy of being grandmother to Jayanna Roberts, her one and only granddaughter. The look on my mothers face whenever she was near her granddaughter, says it all . This is captured in the lovely video montage and photographs chronicling my mother’s life. Mom, on Sunday , January 10th , it was pouring rain outside your hospital window. Suddenly, the dark thunderclouds gave way to a radiant sky; the afternoon sunlight streamed in through the shades. And then it was There.. A Rainbow.. Stretched right overhead..And not just any old regular rainbow ; but a Double Rainbow.. Two sets of all the colors, from red to orange to indigo and violet-just like the acronym - ROYGBIV .An archway across the Heavens, upon a crystal clear crisp blue winter sky..The next morning on Jan, 11th, around 11 am, beneath a sun-kissed morning sky,My mother took her last breathe..At that moment, I realized what the rainbow signified..God’s own gateway welcoming my darling mother into the everlasting Glory of paradise..Angels were preparing the way and opening the entrance through the Rainbow’s door…It is of no coincidence that my mother loved to hear her granddaughter sing her favorite song, ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Mother darling, just as a lighthouse offers a flickering ray of Hope across the darkened sea and moonless sky, may the Light of your Love continue to shine through the fog of our tears.We rejoice as we know that our prayers are being answered and you have been safely guided to Heaven’s shore. To know my mother, was not only to love Her, but was to know what it meant to Be loved. My mother, Frances Marilyn Roberts, her life’s legacy is a love story to celebrate and cherish… From your loving daughter on behalf of the Roberts extended family, Roberta Lee Roberts –Reynolds and John Reynolds (son-in-law) Jay Lance Roberts- son and Lourdes (daughter-in-law) Jayanna Rose Roberts- granddaughter and Anacita Roberts (mother ) Debbie and Rita Durst- nieces The Edelman family- Herb, Ronni, Jay, Syndee and Sarah

Frances Marilyn (Heinisch) Roberts

October 6, 1929 - January 11, 2016