Our family would like to say thank you to everyone who helped with Frank's memorial; those who prayed for strength, comfort and healing for the family and especially his son, Parker. To all of the people who sent emails, letters, cards and flowers, we want to thank you all for your kind words.
We would like to thank all of the people who brought food to our home and to all of the people who brought food to the memorial. In addition to all of the friends and family members who supplied pictures, videos and other materials for the memorial, thank you!
The outpouring of support that we received for his service is something that every Lake County citizen should be proud of, the loss of dedicated servant to the community was shown by the hundreds who participated in the services, from the procession to the memorial.
There is not a day goes by that someone tells me how much they miss and loved Frankie. The love that people had for Frankie was unbelievable. So many people came to us during those first few weeks; I really don’t think Frankie knew just how much people really loved and appreciated him.
It was common to hear from his closest friends that Frank was their “best friend.” Time and time again I would hear from his friends and they would say, “Frankie was my best friend.” Frankie was a best friend to so many.
As parents, we were and still are so proud of Frank. Frankie was and still is a great father; he still is because of all the wonderful things he taught his son Parker, everything he taught him lives on in Parker today. Because of this, Parker is smart, loving and he looks just like his daddy.
To everyone who has lost someone they love, my heart goes out to you. I know the pain you feel. Someone once told me that time will help, but really time just makes the pain different. When something goes wrong in our lives, Parker would say, “This ain't nothing,” making reference to the fact that the little things that go wrong in everyday life are nothing, in comparison to losing his daddy and mommy.
We want to say thank you to all people who showed and shared their love of Frankie, thank you!
During these difficult times, we find that the most helpful thing others can do is on a spiritual level. Thank you for all the prayers for Parker and our family; you don’t know how much this really means to us, thank you and we love each and every one of you.
One of the most difficult things for Jim and I was the thought of will we be physically and mentally able to raised Parker, he being 7 and us being 64? Oh my God, what did I do?
However, that thought was only a blur and now looking at this, we see Parker as a blessing from God to us. We think younger, we feel younger and well, we live younger. We laugh more; we are always on the go, from sun up to way past sun down. Are we going to be OK? Yes, Frank will see to that.
My faith in God went very low. I hated him for a while, but then I realized he was still with me or I would not have made it this far. I still cry and I always will and I am OK with that, because I know in my heart that Frankie is safe and happy; he wants us to be the same.
What happens when you lose someone? At first you can’t believe what has happened, you pray to God to bring them back, thinking that God must have made a mistake. Why?
Will the pain go away? No. Can I go on living? Yes! Will I ever be happy again? Yes! Does anyone care? Yes, people do care. Can we laugh again? Yes!
To love and honor someone you have lost, is to live again. Our Frankie would want and he would demand his family and friends live for him. Laugh, love, sing, cry, dance and, most of all, smile – he did!
Sue Burton is writing on behalf of the Burton and Toney families. She lives in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.
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