REMEMBERING FRAN SAKIEY
Happy Hunting Fran, Happy Hunting! Written By: Bernee Brawn On October 3, 2009, I lost one of my dearest friends. Dr. Francis Sakiey, quietly and easily crossed over the bridge. While we were all devastated, we were also so thankful that his crossing was easy and painless. That very day, Fran had taken Stella to a field trial at the English Setter Club in Medford NJ and ran her in the Open Limited Stake. Unfortunately, Stella didn’t win the stake, but from his phone message, “She was doing one hell of a job, but she forgot to back”. That’d be Stella. Fran went home. Later on when he decided he wasn’t feeling so well, he called and left me a message saying he probably wasn’t going back the next day. He said, “If I wanted to pick Stella up and run her that would be fine.” Unfortunately, I didn’t pick up the phone that night when it rang. Fran died quietly in his sleep the same evening.
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WIRE NEWS
©2010 GWPCA
The next day, I listened to my messages and there was that familiar voice – the one I had heard for almost 30 years, telling me of his decision to take the next day easy. It was to be the last time I would hear his voice. Fran was 73 years old, was supported by and loved by his wife Elizabeth; although, she didn’t exactly share Fran’s love of the dogs, hunting, and field trialing, she put up with it. She knew. Liz also put up with me being in Fran’s life, and for that, I thank her. Not many women could have, or would have been able to deal with the closeness that Fran and I shared, but she knew she was the love of his life. I just shared one small piece of that life. Fran’s daughter Cindy was a frequent visitor at the trials as a teenager. Now, she is a mom of two great kids, Cara and Zack. Cindy and her family