Obituary of Carole Frank

Carole Frank Longtime Westford resident; 67 Westford Carole Frank, age 67, died on October 28, 2007 after a brief illness and a hard fight, not long after the death of her husband Sam Frank, who died Sept. 15. For Carole, life was an aesthetic discipline; her instincts were classical. The important thing was to discern and adhere to the right path. Consideration for a roofline, the drape of wool, and the last necessary pinch of salt were no different than consideration for her fellow creatures. Life demanded respect for principle and proportion. Carole disdained half measures and sentimentality. Ignorance was no excuse. Carole's activism was fueled by her hatred of ugliness. She found greed and selfishness deeply offensive and believed our best hope for security lay in spreading wealth and risk. She favored social insurance, graduated income tax, rent control, and the ADA and campaigned hard with and for those who shared her views. Her telephone book was coded to show which of her neighbors went to the polls and their party affiliation. She saw nothing unethical in bullet voting and operated her own mimeograph machine. Carole had strong views on giving, believing most fundamentally that gifts lack grace if they come with strings attached. She paid tuition without requiring a vote on coursework or career, and played angel to aspiring chefs, builders and musicians who paid her back when they could, or didn't when they couldn't. She understood that the poor need joy as much as the rich and did not fill charity baskets with dented tins, useful socks, or last year's toys. She maintained, correctly, that the best cure for the blues was to do something nice for someone else. Carole was a terrific bowler, a graceful dancer, and a scary-good jumper of rope. She could empty your wallet in an evening of rummy and enjoyed doing so. She grew up with her ear glued to the radio and knew thousands of lyrics and tunes. There were few topics or phrases for which she couldn't supply a song - though she was famously stumped by "bobbypin." She summered in Wellfleet, matching wits with hungry rabbits and painting her porch the color of the sea. Carole will be missed by her grandson Sam, who respected her as the family's best pitcher; by her sister Jerry and brother-in-law Ed, and by their children and grandchildren; and by her son Michael and daughter Lisa, who are awed by her courage, and inspired by her sense of beauty and rightness. FRANK of Westford, Carole, age 67. Join her family and friends at the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford on Friday November 2nd, between 2 and 4 pm, to swap stories and raise a glass in memory. A brief program will begin at 2:30. Carole disliked the practice of sending flowers for the dead; honor her by giving a bouquet to someone you love, by making a gift to the Whitney-Herrick Fund, Box 152, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, by paying your taxes, and, if you're a Democrat, by voting. FUNERAL DIRECTOR: J.A. HEALY SONS-57 NORTH MAIN ST., WESTFORD (978-692-6502)