Laugh, Explore & Understand
Earle P. Frank admitted to the bar in Marion, Indiana on 1 July 1925. Indianapolis is in Marion County. Pop talked about living in Indianapolis and wanting a Duesenberg car which was built there. He later owned several Packard cars.
This post is to celebrate & commemorate the abundant life of my sister, Molly (Mary) Virginia Bitner (nee Frank). As Molly was seven years older, she contributed to much of my toddler years while Mom (Nana) worked. Throughout my life, my sister was a standard of hope and strong continuity.
Throughout her life, her family came first. She was a saint to care for our mother for decades in Raleigh. Along with Nana, Molly was the most gleeful when surrounded by her grandchildren.
When my sister drew me back from Canada to NC in 2013, her first mission was to coerce me into driving her to Wilmington and the ocean. Molly was very connected to universal consciousness and knew the importance of grounding during intensive life changes. I will miss her every day for the balance of my life. I will add stories to this posting over time. Please leave messages below.
Molly was all about “circling the wagons” as a family. When my daughter, also Mary, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, my sister was there to understand the seriousness of the diagnosis and insisted we would conquer this together.
When I told her several months ago that I had created the non-profit Mary Boleyn Hospice Foundation Inc., she responded, I wish I had the strength to help on this project. I promised her a permanent foundation remembrance for her legacy.
For those wanting to donate to the Foundation in Molly Bitner’s name, please follow the link below to celebrate Molly’s life with the gift of a Thumbs Up TaDa mug to a friend or family member for a “boisterous celebration of achievement” moment. One of Molly’s memorable praises to all her grandchildren was always, you get two “atta girls or atta boys for that.
Services are on Friday 12/6 at 1 pm at Lifepointe Church North Raleigh.
Here is a collection of photos from an archive with numerous stories and descriptions. Many more to follow.
Molly was the nickname that stayed with her for her entire life. She was named Mary Virginia Frank at birth.
Molly lived for her children and grandchildren. That is all she talked about most of the time.
Fact about Molly. She hated, yes, loathed to fly. When my Molly McGregor was diagnosed with cancer, my sister flew to Toronto, Canada and to Guelph to help out with the accounting of Lambda Crystal Inc. I knew of another time that she flew with her husband Dick and left fingernail marks in his arm from squeezing.
I know she also flew with Heidi to a physician in the midwest who helped with Heidi’s ailments.
This was at a family gathering in Stow, Ohio. Mom (Nana) Molly, Mike & James
When I returned from Canada in 2013, my sister Molly told me I needed to go to the beach to relax and check-in with the universe for grounding after a harsh separation.
This cupboard followed my sister around her entire life. My Pop & I made this cupboard when I was about 8 years old. I remember having to crawl inside to attach the drawer slides. I remember Molly having this in their Stow house in the kitchen. Molly had the top drawer full of very carefully sorted coupons. She was the queen of coupons. She raised her kids on a limited budget by carefully spending the earnings she & Dick could muster up. The cupboard ended up in Kari’s house. Live on!
After Molly had a stroke she was in several nursing homes. This was a dining room in one. She told me that day that she was tired. Because we talked about the future, I pointedly asked her if she was ready for a new adventure? She said yes. So I said let’s take a picture of you waving goodbye to this one and on to the next adventure. She loved it and asked me to hold her head up so we could see her face. God love her.
You may not see it, but brother Mike is being told not to make “horns” behind Molly’s head. Mom was always telling us boys to “settle down”.
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I visited my Great, great grandfather, Wesley Marken’s gravestone at Andersonville, GA. Myriad thoughts have gone through my head in the last 24 hours. Suffice it to say, the experience was awesome. I found myself quite emotional as I arrived at the museum. As I explained to the museum attendants that I was there to visit my relative’s grave, they began spouting historical trivia that could only be described as rewarding as they took so much glee and satisfaction in sharing their knowledge. They reminded me so much of my nephew Scott Bitner. He is a fine teacher and loves history. I knew he would be keenly interested.
Some of the things that left an impression on me were;
I find it interesting that there were soldiers on both maternal and fraternal sides of my family. My grandfather’s grandfather fought in the Civil War. My father’s great grandfather most likely came over from Salzburg, Austria to fight as a Hessian in the Revolutionary War. My father was in the military in WWI. I was in the Army during the Vietnam Conflict.
I met a really nice young girl at a Chili’s in Milledgeville, GA today and we were talking about this. I told her that I had been attracted to the Army in 1967 because their motto was, “Join the Army, see the world”. She laughed and remarked, you missed the “join the Army” part and only saw the “see the world” part. I laughed out loud because it was so true. So, thank you Mechea. You made a difference in my life today.
With ice storms in Ontario and thousands without hydro, how grateful am I that I have been able to spend Christmas in Raleigh with sister, Molly, and her kids and friends. I had to make the traditional Christmas card photo in front of the fireplace – smiles.
And I had to include my faithful bud, Peanut, who continues to travel with me on my adventures. For those who are not familiar with Peanut, check YouTube search for Jeff Dunham. It will make you laugh.
Molly’s grandchildren posed in numbered shirts to reflect eight wonderful girls and boys who blessed the Christmas pandemonium. Good food and great company.
From left and oldest to youngest: Kore Marie, Sterling, Leah, Curtis, Inari, Nathan, Zander. Missing number 3 tuned in by Skype: Kayia. How CUTE!
And when the food is good, relaxing afterwards is mandatory.