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Frances Jean Coca (1943 - 2016)
Coca, Frances Jean On August 29, 1943, Frances Jean was born to John and Helen Marshall in Sacramento. Until she left for college she lived in Sacramento where she graduated from California Junior High and C. K. McClatchy Senior High Schools. After her graduation, she and her sister Nancy spent several months traveling in Europe and Russia together. On December 27th 1964, Fran married Albert Coca whom she met while a student at Chico State College. She graduated with a masters degree in social work and later a degree from Sacramento State College to teach special education in elementary school. In the interest of learning more about other cultures, Fran and Al traveled to Israel where they worked on a Kibbutz, an enriching experience they always treasured. She and Al moved to the Gilroy and San Martin areas where they raised their two daughters, Carmel Coca Briggs and Kimberly Coca Wells. After her teaching career ended, Fran worked with elderly women providing companionship and needed assistance. She also worked with the Stephen Ministry for several years. Following several moves and the untimely death of her husband, Fran settled in Cameron Park where she became active in two gardening groups: Gold Country Herb Society and El Dorado Garden Club, serving as secretary for one. She was an active member at Discovery Hills Evangelical Free Church in Shingle Springs and later at Church of the Foothills in Cameron Park. Fran's keen interest in learning impelled her to faithfully attend Bible Study Fellowship weekly for the past sixteen years. On August 4, 2016, Fran unexpectedly passed away in her sleep leaving behind many dear friends. She was a warm, kind, generous and loving woman with widespread interests in the world around her. As an avid reader she continued learning until the end. She will be missed by her daughter Carmel and husband Rex Briggs and their two sons Caleb and Jared, daughter Kimberly and husband Jason and their children Aubrey, Allie and Ethan and sister Nancy Marshall Mickelsen with husband Peter and their son Marshall. Together, with Fran's friends, they will celebrate Fran's wonderful life on Saturday August 27th at 2:00pm at the Church of the Foothills 2380 Merrychase Drive, Cameron Park, Ca 95682. Everyone present will have an opportunity to share their heartwarming stories of the good times they enjoyed with a unique person who left us too soon. Fran will be cremated and her ashes spread with her husband's in a nearby creek they both loved.
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Marion Weatherhead (Roberts)
An era has passed and I have lost the first of my childhood friends. Fran Coca was my neighbor and dear friend. One of her most outstanding qualities was LOYALITY. Throughout almost 70 years of friendship she was my loyal, true-blue friend. Whenever we visited in person or talked by phone it seemed that no time had passed.
I have so many memories of our friendship. I’ll describe just a few:
There were many neighborhood backyard plays. In Cinderella, as a small five-year-old, she was darling in the part of Gus, Gus the mouse. And every summer evening her father would take us for a ride to cool off, stopping at Gunthers’ Ice Cream for a delicious cone.
We were in Bluebirds, Campfire Girls and Horizon Club together. What fun we had at camp. Another great memory was when we would sell Campfire Candy together. We first hit the state building where her father was in a high position. All we had to do as we stopped at each desk (for four floors) was have me introduce Fran as John Marshall’s daughter and the wallets would fly open. Another trick we discovered by accident in selling candy in the neighborhoods was to load our arms up to our chins and then when the door opened we would tip a little over and almost drop the top box. The neighbors always felt sorry for us two small children and would buy the top box. Needless to say, we sold a lot of candy!
When her father died suddenly a few days after she had given birth to Carmel, I was blessed to be able to be with her and help her through that very sad and yet happy time. The doctors were afraid she would go into a deep depression as can happen with birth and death at the same time. Carmel was the antidote she needed to move on with the new life presented to her and not succumb to her grief.
She was a wonderful correspondent and I loved hearing about her family in her Christmas letters.
One day I joyfully learned that my prayers had been answered as Fran announced she had become a born-again Christian. I was thrilled! During the many years she studied the Bible she was very interested in my ministry to Christians living in restricted countries who need Bibles. In her honor we are making provisions to deliver many Bibles to Cuba on our next mission in a few weeks. Yes, the Cuban embargo is still on and Bibles are still very needed.
Indeed an era has passed and part of me is emotionally sad but the other part is spiritually rejoicing. I know I will see her again in heaven with the Lord Jesus, and we will pull up a cloud, sit down, and have a wonderful reunion. Now that she can “see” clearly she will have a great deal to share with me about heaven when I arrive. In the meantime, I will miss her terribly!
Her life-long friend,
Marion Weatherhead Roberts
Bea Bell (Pearson)
I, like Marion, spent the first 18 years of my life with Fran as my next door neighbor. We often walked to school together, and Fran was friendly, easy-going, and tenacious, and we spent much of our free time on weekends doing jigsaw puzzles and playing hide and go speak at night with the other neighbor girls. We often shared our birthday parties, as hers was the 29th and mine the 9 th of August. Once we turned 18 and went away to our prospective colleges, we saw less of one another, but I still remember a funny childhood incident where we dared one another to jump off her garage roof onto the freshly dug garden bed below which we all did without incident. It doesn't seem fair that Fran is permanently out of touch for now, but, like Marion said, Fran is in a better place now free of hurt and crime where we can, hopefully, all become reunited some day.