Bill Myers, widow of Mary Frances Miller Myers, Class of 1951, passed away Monday, June 11.

Bill was receiving hospice care in Briarfield rehab in Youngstown when Mary Frances passed away 27 months ago in their Canfield, Ohio home near Youngstown.

Shinnston native Mary Frances met Bill in Akron, Ohio, where she was a secretary at General Tire and Rubber. They married in 1953, long before I began at the Akron Beacon Journal in 1969 after working in the sports departments of the Dayton, Ohio Daily News and St. Petersburg, Florida Times.

Mary Frances and Bill moved to Canfield in 1972, and lived there till her passing.

Their children are Youngstown State graduate Karen Myers Naffah, who lived a block away from Mary Frances’ Sleepy Hollow Drive home in Canfield; Bill Myers, Jr., 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.

Mary Francis’ brother is Cleve Miller of Leesburg, Florida, which is about 12 miles from The Villages where Paula and I spend our winters. She was “Nana” to four grandchildren, Amanda and Matthew Myers of Dayton, Mallory Naffah Padurean of Canfield and Morgan Myers of Sarasota.

Mary Francis was predeceased by her parents; grandparents; and her sister, Martha Frye.

Karen wrote:

“This morning my Dad went on a walk to Heaven to dance with his best girl. He was ready and my Mom has been waiting for more than 2 years.”

After Mary Frances passed away, Karen sent me Mary Frances’ treasured Monongah High memorabilia, as per her Mom’s wishes.

They included the 1949, 1950 and 1951 Black Diamond yearbooks, programs and scripts for the senior and junior high plays that had Mary Frances in the cast and autographs and graduation cards from her fellow Class of 1951 classmates.

I shared them on a Monongah High Alumni blog post and got a warm thank-you note from Karen. Today, Mary Frances' mementoes, except for a few that I kept and value highly and are on the Monongah High shrine shelf in my den, are in the custody of the Monongah High Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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

Enjoy your walk in Heaven with Bill, Mary Frances.