Obituary of Heloise Ruth Albritton Frame

Héloïse Ruth Albritton Frame, beloved mother, grandmother and glorious daughter of God, joined her Lord on Thursday evening, August 14th, 2014, in East Meredith, New York. Héloïse journeyed forth, very peacefully, from her own bed in her country homestead, "Nepenthe." This mother to seven children was surrounded by her family and devoted caretakers, and her home was filled with the music and singing and flowers she loved. Héloïse was born in 1928 in Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand), to Dr. Errett and Mrs. Rietta Albritton. She played on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, and danced in the sands on Hua Hin with her brother, Rogers. She laughed in the arms of her mother and father, and took deep comfort in the nurturing love of her Thai nanny, known as Ma Pau. The family returned to America in 1931, and settled in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where Héloïse became an accomplished student, pianist, active Young Federalist, and an original candy striper. She earned her BA in English Literature with highest honors from Swarthmore College in 1950. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and an intellectual beatnik, Héloïse loved the Greenwich Village scene, enjoying conversation with the likes of Pete Seeger and Jackson Pollock. But it was a young man from a small town in Iowa named James Hartwell Frame who captured her heart (over a spilled bowl of punch), and who became the great man in her life. James and Héloïse wed in 1951 and remained married for 47 years until his death in 1997, also in East Meredith. Together they had seven children and more than twenty grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Héloïse was an energetic and faithful servant of the Lord, personally and professionally. After raising her children, she returned to school at the young age of forty-nine and earned an MA in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling in 1977 from The University of Santa Clara in California. Over sixty years, she opened her home to many seekers in the conviction of God's promise in Deuteronomy that "He sets the lonely in families." She was the spiritual mentor, gifted counselor and healer of many searching souls. She was a truly great listener and conversation partner who worked to reconcile all the concerns of childhood and family experiences together with the health of the mind, all founded on the building - or rebuilding - of spiritual strength. With financial support from great friends, Héloïse co-launched House of Bread Ministries in California in the 1970s, continued her calling in New York City in the 1980s, developing her 12 step Deprivation Neuroses Anonymous group program, then founded The Lazarus Center in Oneonta in 1992, joined there for a time by her daughters who practiced careers in therapy and midwifery, until 2009, then choosing to continue her spiritual work from her home office in East Meredith. Héloïse will be greeted in heaven by those who went before her - including her husband James, brother Rogers, her parents, daughter-in-law Clara, great-grandson Caiden, as well as numerous friends and spiritual offspring. Early in the evening of her last day, she was able to share in her cherished sunset prayer, saying to the Lord - as she had every day for many years - "let us usher in a new day, now beginning with rest." Héloïse's children left behind await that new day that we will be reunited with her: Matthew of Cary, NC; Margaret Lipton of Spokane; James Jr. of Redding, CT; Shannah Whitney and Martha Lynch of Warwick, NY; David of Los Angeles and Ruth Frame Zinkievich of East Meredith, and her grandchildren Laura, Susannah, Rebecca, Mark and their mother Patricia; Joshua, Jamie, Bethany, Zach and Gabe and their father Russell; Naomi, Ned, Ellie and their mother Kate; Miranda, Casey and their father Dennis; Shannon, his brothers Tony, Julian and John and their father Eugene; Winsome and Jacob and their father Michael, and her great-grandchildren Allie, Isaac, Charlotte, Susan, Arianna, Tobias, Elliot, and the new twins Penelope and Finnegan. A memorial service was held at the West Kortright Center in East Meredith on Sunday, October 12, 2014. Memorial contributions in the form of perennials or support in her name to Bethany Ministries, P.O. Box 432, Middleburgh, New York 12122-0432 Arrangements are under the direction of Hall & Peet Funeral Home, Delhi. Please visit her online memorial at www.hallandpeet.com to share condolences or a story with the family