Frances Jean Hovey

The life and praise report of a loving mom and grandmother.
"To be absent from the body is to be present with God"AMEN!

Fran was an amazing spouse, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother.
Fran Hovey was born in Prattsburg, New York which she was one of four siblings. She had one
brother named Ford and was the middle sister to her youngest sister Jean and oldest sister
Nancy. She graduated from Avoca High School in Avoca, New York and went on to pursue her
career of becoming a registered nurse and childbirth educator. Being in the nursing field for over
42 years she found much joy of helping patients and especially loved taking care of the newborn
babies. She took care of all the babies as if they were her own. In her nursing career she
worked for Strong Memorial Hospital, Genesee Hospital, Rochester General Hospital and
Highland Hospital which were all located in the city of Rochester New York.

While driving home after her shift one evening, Rochester was receiving a heavy snowstorm.
The roads were covered in very thick snow and visibility was low. Unfortunately, Fran's vehicle
went off the road into a snow bank. Thankfully she was not hurt, nor the vehicle was damaged.
However, she was stuck. That evening, she would be rescued, and she would meet her soon to
be husband. David was out on the roads that evening in the county tow truck and happened to
see Fran's vehicle stuck as he drove by. David stopped and made sure Fran was okay and
explained to her what he was going to do to get her safely back on the road. David and Fran
struck up a conversation through the whole experience that evening and after a short while,
David was able to tow the vehicle out safely and Fran was able to get back on the road to get
home. After some days had gone by, David and Fran began to stay in touch with each other
and in 1971 they were married and in 1978, they had their only son, Matthew Hovey.

Before I was born, mom had some concerns about bringing a child into this world. Although she
had a love for children and people, she knew what this world offered and how difficult it was to
navigate. A few years ago, my mom shared with me that having a son really made her stronger
as she walked through this life as an individual. She said she watched me display confidence
and will power even at a young age and she admired me for my very positive no fear attitude
when it came to certain situations. She was amazed! She said this really encouraged her to
become stronger as a mother and as an individual, because she knew I was always looking up
to her and she had to be strong for the son she was raising.

Over the years, I watched my mom’s self-confidence increase in her everyday tasks. She was
now comfortable in most everything she did. This newfound strength allowed her to interact well
with others and she mostly became very well respected by the hospital staff in her nursing
profession as a head charge nurse. Her youthful and loving spirit allowed others, young and
seasoned to gravitate to her quickly. She was always intrigued by the life stories she heard from
others when a conversation arose and loved to be an encouragement to anyone she came in
contact with. She was definitely a social butterfly.

Growing up, I had the best of both of my parents, but being with my mom was the best when I
was little. My mom was so talented as she loved to sew and crochet and always had the most
amazing ideas when it came to making crafts. Craft time was exciting with my mom. We made
all sorts of things, from newspaper palm trees, Christmas ornaments, paper balloons and we
even attempted some cool science experiments. Mom was all about the hands-on experience
These are just a few to name, but anything to keep the fun and excitement going is what she
loved!

About 3 years ago while still in Rochester, New York, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 blood
cancer which also affected the bone. A year and a half ago, she was out and about one day and
had stepped wrong and fell, which caused her to break her ankle. She now had to go into
surgery and would then recover at a rehab nursing facility in Rochester. While in the healing
process, the family was in agreement that it was time move my parents to live near us in North
Carolina for the betterment of their health and safety. In November 2022, we packed up mom
and dad's belongings and they became official residents of North Carolina. My wife and I had
established their new residence here in North Carolina ahead of time so they could move right
in. We moved dad in their new residence, but my mom still needed full assistance with the
healing of her ankle. We settled her new residence into a nursing rehab facility not too far from
us, which they welcomed her with open arms. Mom became the life of this facility and all the
residents, down to the staff had a love for her. Mom always had a smile on her face regardless
of how she felt. She loved to engage in conversation and be a positive encouragement to the
staff and the residents, which they all loved her for that. While she was there, she made it a
point every morning to say good morning to all her fellow residents and tell them “Isn’t it great
that God woke all of us up again to see this day? This is the day the Lord has made, and we will
rejoice in it".

Our plan was to have my mom home with my dad at the end of June 2023 since her ankle had
healed. Unfortunately, her health started to decline. She still had just enough strength to
celebrate her anniversary of 52 years being married the week before her passing and was able
to enjoy that final week with time spent with her oldest sister before she went home with the
Lord on Saturday, June 24,2023. Mom had struggled with severe pain for the past 2 months and
struggled to eat and could barely sleep. The whole family had always been in consistent prayer
about mom's health, asking God to give her body relief. In the final week of her life, I sought
God's face in prayer and told him, “Your will be done as you are God; would you please honor
my request to you?” My requests to him were: Please let me know ahead of time when you are
going to take mom home, please allow her to have no pain before she leaves, please allow
her to take the best nap ever and when she wakes up, she will be in your arms, and would you
allow me to speak to her one last time and tell her I love her. God heard my request and I heard
him clear as a day. God honored my requests. God told me two days in advance when he was
taking her. The pain ceased 2 days before he took her. I was able to say good morning and I
love you 2 hours before her passing and she did close her eyes and took her nap after we got
off the phone. What a blessing I had received! Yet once again I was able see the power and
magnitude of God the Father. I give him nothing but praise.

My mom had a full life of joy, love, and excitement. She didn't skip a beat. She loved to travel to
new areas and was able to experience a trip to Germany, Hawaii, and the Grand Canyon. She
raved about all of them, but the Grand Canyon was a dream of hers. She had purchased a book
a while ago about the Grand Canyon with beautiful color pictures and she told us that the
pictures in the book don't do it justice until you see the real thing. She said it was so beautiful
and serene.

Her ultimate dream was to be around us, the family and especially spend time with her two
grandchildren as much as possible. She wanted to enjoy the holidays and attend as many
special events with the family she could. Living in Rochester, my mom was able to see both of
her grandchildren grow from the start of kindergarten. Her heart filled with joy seeing her oldest
granddaughter graduate from high school and watch her youngest grandchild grow in her
elementary to middle school years. When we moved mom to North Carolina in November 2022,
her dreams really came true. The upcoming holidays and birthdays with our large family
together is what she longed for, and she was able to attend and enjoy. She spent time with her
youngest granddaughter as they would laugh and play games and discuss all of the great
accomplishments she achieved over the school years to now finishing 7th grade and next year
it’s on to high school. She saw my oldest finish her second year of college in her pursuit majoring
in food science and loved to hear the stories of the different projects she was performing
research on. She loved on my wife and me and always told us how thankful she was for giving
her two wonderful grandchildren.

We will definitely miss mom here on earth, but we will definitely see her again when God brings
us all home in his perfect timing. Mom's genuine love for us still stays in our memories and in
our hearts. If you knew my mom, you met a loving, gentle, and kind soul that just wanted to pour
out love and kindness to anyone she met. She always wanted her light to shine brighter, even if
it was on a rainy day. One of her favorite songs was "this is the day the Lord has made and we
will rejoice and be glad it in"; she sung this all the time. For us to see the joy in her smile
every time we got together is proof of how much she loved us and others.

We love you mom! We thank God for your presence and impact on this family. You gave so
many people hope and inspiration and impacted many lives that you came across with your
loving heart. You were a blessing for God's kingdom and your assignment was complete. We
are certain that you will walk with God and his disciples along the river Jordan as you always
requested in your prayers. Keep singing all the songs you love; we know Jesus will love them
as well. Welcome home to the kingdom!

Do you know, If God grants us another day tomorrow, laughter and joy will come in the
morning? When we are born on earth, God plants us as a seed. As he waters the seed, it starts
to grow into a young tree. As the tree matures, it gets stronger and branches out. It now can
provide a source of food, comfort, and protection. When it reaches full maturity, it's now able to
weather any storm that comes its way. Once its assignment has been fulfilled, God uproots it
and plants it in his garden in Heaven. It now can display reverence and shout its praise and
display its gratitude and appreciation to its creator for giving it life. The tree has now reached its
full potential and maturity and now understands what its purpose was and why it was planted.

For anyone who reads this life report of my mom, there is no need to be sad or sorrowful. This is
a living testimony that there is life after leaving our temporary home here on earth. Time is
precious and If God decides to take you home tomorrow, do you know beyond a shadow of a
doubt that you would go with him? If you are not certain about this, I’m going to tell you exactly
how to get to heaven and be with him. If you say this prayer and mean it from your heart, he will
save you and you can spend eternity with him. Say this prayer:" Father God, I know I am a
sinner and do not deserve you. If I die today, I want to go home with you. Please forgive me of
my sins and wash me clean. Please come into my heart and live within me and allow me to start
my new life with you. I believe that Jesus Christ is your son and that he died for my sins. I put all
my trust in you Jesus as you are my personal savior. From this day forward, I ask you to take
control of my life and allow me to be a willing vessel in your presence for your kingdom. Please
come into my heart and save me. I am giving all of me to you Jesus and 1 believe you have
honored my prayer of salvation. Thank you for coming into my heart and saving me. Amen!"

If you prayed this prayer; meant it from the heart and believed what you prayed, then I also
believe Jesus has accepted you and saved you. Start consistently speaking with God every day.
His language is prayer, and his conversation is like we are speaking to a friend. You can talk to
him anytime and about anything you want. He never gets tired of hearing from you. Hopefully
you can find an awesome bible believing church that will help you grow your faith in God. Make
sure you acquire a bible which is God's instruction manual through this temporary life on earth.
It will bless you and teach you about the greatness of God and his plan.

One last thing: If God blesses you with a new start of a day, always tell him good morning and
thank him for blessing you with another day; that you may be a blessing and encouragement to
someone who doesn't know about him.

Father God, we thank you for the love you have for all our families that have had losses. May
you hold them and give them comfort and strength. For their test in the storm is their testimony
to tell someone else how you were able to take them through. In the name of Jesus, God the
Father. We praise and exalt your name. AMEN!

Be encouraged! Stay prayerful! Know where your help comes from. God always has it under
control. Always know God loves you and will never leave you, nor forsake you.
God can do anything but fail! What a great God we serve!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!

THE HOVEY FAMILY