It was an honor to be among the guests at the celebration of Frank’s life.
And while my husband urged me to speak, I felt intimidated and let the moment pass.
In the summer of 1970, I left the country for the first time to study French at Laval University in Quebec. Finding my way to class the first morning, I noticed the tallest boy I’d ever seen. It turned out that we were classmates and he had been as nervous as I. During those six weeks studying with Madame Carboni we became great friends and shared many adventures in and around Quebec City.
As every person has mentioned, when you are befriended by Frank Trippett, it’s for life. Throughout the years we remained in touch with each other and added our families into the mix — visits in our homes, cards or letters, a spate of emails, or a phone call. His description of “walking” in the Scottish Highlands led to my husband and me taking the same trek a couple of years ago. We survived.
This fifty year friendship was rekindled when Frank called me near the beginning of the March 2020 lockdown, explaining that he was using this time to get in touch with old friends. After that hours long call on we emailed each other regularly, discussing our families, Covid, politics, books, movies, and Netflix. We were hoping the four of us might take a hiking trip in NC when the pandemic abated. Most importantly, Frank urged me to renew my study of French, which I have done. I am determined to become fluent, thanks to his encouragement. When my emails and calls went unanswered, I knew something was terribly wrong. I learned what that something was just in time to tell him goodbye.
He influenced our lives in so many subtle ways—my heart hurts that we can no longer share our thoughts and stories.
Rachel, Hailey, thank you for including us in that beautiful tribute to your brilliant husband and father. We were allowed a new insight into his incredible life.
