Our Stories - Life is Precious

97 CANDLES!!
Frances Schroeder

Jun, 2015

Frances Schroeder had one goal. One goal can often be easy to reach and may not seem very daunting, unless your goal is to reach 97 years old!!  Frances achieved victory on October 2 – her 97th Birthday!  

Frances received hospice care while living with her son.  She was reminiscing one afternoon about her younger days in Coloma. She was pretty sure she was the lone surviving member of her high school graduating class and was dearly missing all of her friends she had lost through the years.  

Frances, so full of life, was looking forward to, and determined to reach, her goal of turning 97 years old.  Her hospice care team met on October 1 to discuss her care, and during this meeting, upon hearing of Frances’ goal, her volunteer coordinator took it upon herself to make it a very Happy Birthday for Frances.  The word was put out quickly and a Hospice at Home volunteer offered, after a busy day at work, to bake a cake and drop it off before leaving for a conference early the next day – Frances’ Birthday.  A birthday card was sent around for Frances’ care team to sign, volunteers arranged a beautiful floral bouquet with flowers donated by a local florist, a birthday balloon was added into the mix and everyone threw Frances a party to remember!  

Bouquets of roses from her loving son were the perfect finishing touch on Frances’ special day. 

One more precious memory to add to 97 years of memories – Happy Birthday Frances!