Frances Nye

Frances Nye Entered into eternal rest in Daly City CA on October 28, 2011, at age 84. Frances was born on February 18, 1927 in Worcester MA, the daughter of the late Harold Gifford Nye and Grace Comfort Nye and sister of the late Robert W. Nye. She is survived by her daughter Lynda Nye Seaman Wiener and her husband Donald Wiener, and 8 nieces and nephews on the East Coast. She was a 10th generation descendent of Benjamin Nye who arrived in Massachusetts in 1635. Frances was a long time resident of San Francisco and a retiree of the City and County of San Francisco. She was instrumental in creating San Francisco's first paratransit service; ironically a service she was later denied by the City after she became mobility impaired. Following her retirement she attended San Francisco State University and earned a Bachelor's degree, Summa Cum Laude, at the age of seventy. Frances was a woman whose generosity and compassion were legendary. Known as 'Mother Teresa' by her co-workers, she was quick to lend her money and time to friends, family, and even strangers in need. She was an adventurer who took a tramp freighter through the Panama Canal, eventually ending up in Murmansk, Russia where she and a rowdy bunch of Russian sailors were chased down the streets by the local constabulary. She lived on a boat in the Bahamas where she learned about twenty recipes for cooking conch. In her sixties, she and her disabled son-in-law ran the Bay to Breakers, whipping out a cigarette at the finish and yelling "smokers' power!" And then there was that time in Paris at the Moulin Rouge ... Her passions in life included books and her cats. When her daughter was a baby, Frances read her to sleep with Coleridge, Longfellow, and her particular favorite, Robert Frost. Her nephew Roger still remembers a book she gave him as a life-changing experience. Her hysterical, feisty and imperious coal-black kitty, Barlee, is now ruling the roost with Don and Lynda. The family expresses their gratitude to Maria Collins and the Abelene Carehome staff, notably Romel Marinua, Mila Tongohan, and Emma Molinafor their loving and professional care; Tom Grohe of Kaiser Permanente, and the staff at Pathways Hospice for helping her through her final days. Friends are invited to attend a memorial service celebrating her life at 6 PM on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at Duggan's Serra Mortuary, 500 Westlake Ave. Daly City, CA 94014.