?(Robert Franke) believed in the goodness of human beings and fought all of his life for that?- Norma Bailey
Robert Franke dedicated his life to the education of America?s future.
The one-time Central Michigan University provost and the founding minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan died Jan. 3 in Little Rock, Ark. He was 78.
Franke retired as the provost of Central Michigan University in 1990. Upon his retirement, he entered the seminary and rededicated his life to God.
Upon returning to Mt. Pleasant, Franke helped establish the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan and served as its founding minister.
?What he meant to our fellowship was amazing. He had this vision of starting a fellowship here,? Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan president Norma Bailey said.
?He gathered together a group of us for a picnic in Deerfield Park, he proposed the idea, and we said yeah and he became our minister.?
Franke studied for two years at a seminary in Chicago. He then made his way to Traverse City, where he interned and then returned to Mt. Pleasant and pitched his idea.
The group of people decided that this was something they wanted to pursue, not knowing exactly what it would look like. Continued...
?We first met on a monthly or bimonthly basis, and then we grew into a regular church. We would meet in people?s homes and do a lot of planning,? former co-director of religious education Laura McBride said.
?We became a more formalized and recognized church by the UUA and we went ahead and ordained and installed Bob as our minister.
?He led us for the first few years of that church until his health kept him from allowing him to do it any longer.?
Franke was HIV-positive, and because of his health he chose to relocate to Arkansas where he could be closer to his daughter.
The assisted living facility where Franke wanted to live abruptly evicted him when the institution reviewed his submitted medical records reflecting his HIV status.
Unhappy with how he was being treated Franke decided to sue the facility under the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and similar state laws.
?He was kicked out within 24 hours of moving in because they found out he was HIV positive,? church member Guy Newland said.
?It turns out that if you are taking any kind of funding from the government, it?s illegal to discriminate against someone?s HIV status. There was a lawsuit and this nursing home had to quickly reach a settlement.
?Because of that lawsuit and winning that lawsuit, he was actually recognized and he went to the White House in 2010 as somebody who was fighting for the rights of people with HIV.?
In his years at CMU Franke was instrumental in starting the gay and lesbian programming office at a time when there wasn?t a great deal of support or receptivity to that, according to Newland. Continued...
Franke passed away from heart failure at the age of 78. He will be remembered by many not only for his work in the church and the university but for the way he lived life.
?For us he inspires the idea of social activism. Being able to put your beliefs into action and that was very important to him,? McBride said,
?Putting your beliefs into action, it doesn?t just better you but it does better the place where you live. I really appreciated that about him.
?Even in his final couple of years with what he had to deal with in discrimination with his assisted living situation. I think that is a really great illustration of that because it was something that affected him but the outcome of that benefitted other people.?
Memorial services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 1 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan, 319 S. University Ave,. Contributions can be made to Lambda Legal in lieu of flowers.
Source: http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2012/01/05/news/doc4f04c8746a2ee928165179.txt
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