remember the picture in our minds of Frank walking proudly but with great effort up to the cashier to pay the bill!  There were other great adventures along the way--that night we hit a major snowstorm in southern Idaho and the Suburban had to be towed up a hill.  The next day we made it through another snowstorm in Utah, only to hit some wind on the other side which jackknifed the trailer.  The Suburban came to a stop across the oncoming traffic lane with semis coming from both directions.  It was an absolute miracle that no one was hurt, and that within 3 hours we had replaced all the tires and wheels on the trailer and were traveling down the highway again!
    On Sabbath afternoon we crossed the New Mexico line and Frank gave us all a big  thumbs up signal!  There was an absolutely gorgeous sunset with all the incomparable southwest hues and colors as we neared Catron County and he was so pleased to be back home. 
    We were able to find a good hospital bed to put in the spare bedroom of Frank's parents home so that he could be comfortable and it was easier for us to care for him.  My parents, my brother and Frank's sisters had to leave on Monday morning, which was a difficult farewell after all we'd been through.
      Each day  Frank got a little weaker.  On Thursday our wonderful local doctor, Dr. Mark Winslow , made a housecall to see if there was anything further that could be done.  He let me know that it was obvious that Frank's organs were beginning to shut down and he wouldn't last much longer.  That evening the doctor came back  to monitor him and stayed with us the entire night.  Our friends, Bo Riddle & Jane McDowell came to share the vigil too.  The last words that Frank said were something to the effect that "if I am to make it, it will have to be a miracle" .  His breathing slowed and finally stopped at 1:50 am Friday morning, October 31.  I woke the boys to tell them and we all had a long cry.  Then we got out all the photo albums to look at pictures of Frank, reminisce and tell Dr. Winslow all of Frank's bear stories!  If death can ever be considered a positive experience, I guess this was just about as good as it gets!
    The graveside funeral service was a beautiful, (though painful) experience too.  The St. Isidro Mission cemetary is a small Catholic cemetary on the mountain right next to Frank's parents property.  Frank had wished to be buried there because it was such a beautiful spot, surrounded by the forest and with a wonderful view of the mountains.  It was a lovely New Mexico fall day with lots of sun and a slight breeze.  Frank was lying in a brown casket with his cowboy hat on his chest and Jane had  made an arrangement of his belongings on the end of the casket:  his boots, his spurs, his chaps, his Bible, his gun and leather holster, and a book on the Constitution.  We had Kiowa there, the Paint horse that Frank always rode,  with Frank's roping saddle.  Bess, the little black & white border collie that was his special cow dog was there too.  (We didn't have to hire any mourners, because Bess added her tuneful wailing when the guitar started strumming!)  The service began with Eddie Atwood, a local rancher, singing one of his own  songs and sharing his last conversation with Frank.  (Just before we had left Reserve last summer he had stopped by to check out our garage sale.  He'd asked Frank then if he could choose anywhere in the world that he wanted to live, where would he go.  Frank had replied, "I just want to go to heaven."  )  We then sang some familiar and meaningful hymns.  Charlie Chavez, a close friend from Magdalena had the opening prayer.  Pat Rowe, a cowboy from a ranch near Datil who had made Frank's favorite set of spurs, read the Obituary.  Tom Brannon, another good friend  from Pie Town,  read a poem called "Not Now, but In the Years to Come".  (This poem was meaningful to us because Owen had discovered it in the hymnal during one of our last days at the hospital in Colville and had read it to all of us as we had had worship around Frank's bed.  Frank was very moved by the words at that time, as were all of us).  Then we had a tape recording of a Dan Holder song called "In Times To Come", a song that Frank loved and had told me ages ago that he wanted to have sung at his funeral.    Charlie read the Scripture reading from Revelation which was by far Frank's favorite book of the Bible.  My Dad had a wonderful sermon--I hope you will take the time to read all of the transcript that is here on this site.  Bo Riddle, another close friend, read the poem, "Part Cowboy" by Sally Harper Bates.  It was another of Frank's favorites because of its vision of God as the Ultimate Western Hero.   
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