Mary Frances Miller Myers, Bill Myers and the rest of the family

Prayers, please, for Mary Frances Miller Myers

Bill & Mary Frances toast 62 years of marriage in 2015

Mary Frances Miller Myers, Class of 1951, is receiving hospice care at her Canfield, Ohio home that she shares with her husband, Bill Myers, who is in Briarfield rehab 15 miles away in Youngstown with his own health issues, including the loss of both legs.

Their children are Youngstown State graduate Karen Myers Naffah, who lives a block away; Bill Myers, whose careers included the Dayton, Ohio police department and the FBI; and David Myers, who lives in Sarasota and watches homes for snowbirds while they are up north in warmer weather.

Home-watching is a common thread among those who have homes in Florida and up north, as Paula and I do in The Villages and the Akron suburb of Tallmadge, Ohio.

Mary Frances’ grandchildren call her “Nana.” I called my Italian grandmother, my mom’s mother, Nona.

My Nona came to America with three children aged 7 to 10, couldn’t speak English, boarded The Queen of Italy ship in Genoa, went through Ellis Island, took a train to Clarksburg and a bus to my grandfather, who came over 3 years earlier during World War I, with a piece of paper in her hand that said: “Swisher Hill, West Virginia.”

What courage and desperation it must have required for this timid, 90-pound woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean and several states in America to return to the man she loved so much that she dropped her boyfriend when Granddaddy Futten walked into the restaurant where she was a waitress.

It must have been his blonde, wavy hair and the friendly eyes that stood him well till he passed away in Mill Fall.

If you want to send prayers and best wishes to Mary Frances, the address is:

Mary Frances Myers

60 Sleepy Hollow Drive

Canfield, OH 44406

I had a delightful reunion with Mary Frances and Bill at the 2005 and 2010 Monongah High Alumni Reunions.

The really difficult email that Karen wrote, at Mary Frances’ direction:

 

John,   By way of introduction I am Karen Myers Naffah, Mary Myers' daughter. My mother asked me to contact you and let you know what has been going on in her/our lives.   On Christmas Eve, we took my father to the emergency room at our local hospital with flu-like symptoms. It ended up he had a extremely low heart rate and they admitted him. He coded at 4:00 am Christmas morning and a temporary Pacemaker was put in place. In the meantime, my father’s existing leg was going bad. A permanent Pacemaker was placed in his heart on Monday, December 28th and he was sent to the Cleveland Clinic where his leg was amputated on Tuesday, Dec. 29th.   While Dad was staying at the Clinic my mother became very tired so we chose to drive back and forth with my brothers and I taking shifts being at the hospital.    On the morning of January 3rd, my mother woke up with jaundice. I took her to the local ER; my brothers headed to Cleveland. After some tests in the ER, my mother was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma or Bile Duct cancer. This is a very rare and very aggressive form of cancer.   There are no warning signs until you become jaundiced. She was in the hospital for 10 days where they put a stent in her bile duct to give her some relief. She came home; my father went to rehab.   The oncologists said this cancer "just drops from the sky and gets you, no rhyme or reason.”    She is at home with hospice care. My brothers and I are taking a week each so she is never without one of us. My father is still in rehab with many other health issues of his own.   My mom is growing weaker each day, but still as sweet and special as always. She asked me to share our saga with you and ask for prayers for her and my father.   Please feel free to contact me at this email address -- kmnaffah@aol.com -- or call my celllphone at (330) 716-2081. Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy email.  My mom has spoken so highly of her high school family for so many years that I feel as if I know each of you personally.   Fondly, Karen Myers Naffah

 

Please direct your emails to Karen at kmnaffah@aol.com

Mary Frances, Bill & Bill's dad in 1955
in Akron, Ohio with their new car

With her daughter's permission, I talked briefly to Mary Frances by phone. She still is a remarkable and delightful star in the Monongah High firmament.

A true Lion Queen.

To see other photos of the Myers family not in this blog article, click on https://picasaweb.google.com/115483244393507838338/MaryFrancisMillerMyersAndBillMyers

There are SIXTEEN photos in the online album starring Monongah’s own Mary Frances.

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NOT RELATED TO Mary Frances and Bill are other Monongah High Myers:

Gary & Larry Myers, both Class of 1964, who attended the 2014 MHS Alumni Reunion. Gary is from Bridgeport and Larry is from Fairmont.

Melissa Myers –Lampinen

Michelle Myers Stone

Mindy Myers Vincent

Michelle Myers-Meff

Sherry Myers Colanero, Class of 1975