Jim Fanning's Website
Martha Mitchell Fanning
March 14, 1898 - March 9, 1998
St. Paul tells us in Second Corinthians, chapter five verse eight, “to be absent from the body is to be present to the Lord.” So may it be with Martha, my mother. And again St. Paul says in Phil. Chapter 1 verse 21, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. So may it be with Martha, my mother.
Martha Mitchell Fanning- a lady, a lady and always a lady. The lady with a resolute, driving, generous spirit is with us no more. Deeply will she be missed by her friends, neighbors, grandchildren, sons, and daughters… and by so many, many others who knew her, many of whom we met last evening for the first time.
During these last few days my mother was being told of a celebration to be given in her honor- all of her friends and relatives would be gathering to celebrate her birthday. In fact, every year in the last fifteen years a birthday party was planned and held. The work and preparation was done primarily by my brother Marty and my sister Martha. So many very beautiful events were held for her. The most memorable and elegant was the one held in Clarks Summit. Marty made extraordinary efforts to provide mother with a beautiful, beautiful, tribute. It truly was one magnificent birthday celebration; an elegant affair. Mention should also be made of my sister Martha who also helped enormously in all of those events.
Martha Mitchell Fanning- almost everyone here is acquainted with her life story. One of six girls, she was raised by a loving mother and father. As a loving wide and mother, she did well. She made every effort to keep a neat and clean household and spent much of her time preparing meals. In the autumn of each year, hours upon hours and sometimes entire days would be spent canning fruits and vegetables. They would be stored in the cellar for use in the middle of the winter…peaches, pears, string beans, apple sauce, and tomatoes; just to name a few.
Martha Mitchell Fanning- always a caring, industrious, and vigilant mother. She was always urging us to conduct ourselves in a proper manner, prompting us to do what we were supposed to do. Other things she instilled in us were a desire to work hard (she was a hard worker herself), to do what was asked of us, and to help others when the need arose.
She would insist on certain things. One of those things was the praying of the rosary as a family. We would gather on the stairs leading to the second floor and kneel on the stairs or on the second floor hallway and pray the rosary. Not every night, but often and always during the month of October. One of the brothers would kneel by the phone to intercept calls and keep the interruptions to a minimum. Generally, my father would lead the rosary or sometimes a brother.
Another thing she would insist upon was Sunday mass. I mean you went, no questions asked. Nine o’clock St. Mary’s on Mount Carmel without exception. During one such Sunday, I recall on of her children (who must have been eleven or twelve years old at the time) was having, while in church, a sharp pain in the stomach. It would not go away. By midday, his mother took him to a doctor. He was informed that her son had appendicitis. He was taken to the hospital and his appendix was removed. End of story? Well, not quite. She had decided to stay that night after the surgery in the same room he was in. In the middle of the night, she noticed blood on the bed…lots of blood. She called the nurse, the nurse in turn called the doctor. It was determined that the incision was not sewed up properly. He was returned to the operating room for “repairs”. Without that intervention, it’s difficult to say what might have happened. And I know this story is a true one, for I am that son.
There are many other stories about our mother that would tell of her devotion to her family and her children. Making sure they went to private schools, taking care of their medical needs, clothing needs, cooking and baking for the family. So many acts of love and caring should not be forgotten.
I would like to mention at this time all the acts of love and caring shown in return by her sons and daughters. For well over thirty years, Ed would daily visit her home. He would check in on her and Dad to see how they were getting along. Hundreds, more like thousands acts of kindness, caring, and thoughtfulness done by their son, our brother, Ed. He lived about a mile away and would make it a part of his daily routine to visit with them and attend to their needs. He found great pleasure in helping them at this stage of their lives, assisting them in countless different ways. And Martha, their daughter, our sister, was not a stranger to them. She was also often at the house, helping out in whatever way she could. Martha spent hundreds and hundreds of hours attending to mother’s daily needs. Marty, living in Auburn, New York, would very often drive all the way to Dunmore and back just to visit his parents, and after Dad died, would continue to visit mother at home, and then faithfully visit her when she moved to Wesley Village.
Bill, living in Alexandria, Virginia, would make it a priority of his to get up to Dunmore often and see his mother. He was constantly in touch with her by phone and would make it a point to take her to his house for special times like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And we must not forget John, living in Endicott, New York. He would travel to Dunmore often, more so in the summer and in good weather to visit his mother. Sometimes he would stay overnight, going back the next day. Often he would come, always wanting to bring some cheer and good fellowship to his mother. She was always pleased to have a visit from John.
Clair, living in Scranton, was a constant visitor to mother, helping her often in so many different ways. She would help her with groceries and shopping. In later years, she would take her to many of her doctor appointments.
Joe, living in Harker Heights, Texas, would make the long drive to Scranton to see his mother. One time when he arrived and noticed mother’s refrigerator wasn’t as nice as it should be, he immediately went out and bought her a new one. Joe was very considerate of his mother inviting her to visit him in Texas-which she did at the age of 92.
Mother for her part was deeply devoted to all her family, her husband, her children, her sisters. She was especially fond of her sister Clair. When Clair died, mother took it very hard. Clair had a very gentle and loving way about her. Mother was also close with her sister Margaret. They would often chat on the phone for long periods of time. Margaret lived with her husband, Bill, less than a mile away from Mom on Delaware street. Martha was also a dear friend to so many neighbors; The Dempsey’s, the Miller’s, the O’Neil’s and the Ryder’s.
It was indeed a long life she lived. A long life dedicated to service along with all of life’s struggles and pain. The loss of Dad’s automobile business, a trial that test Mom and Dad and the injuries and hardships the children experienced, which were deeper pains than the loss of the automobile business. Yet during all these adversities she kept a strong and unshakable spirit and maintained a will to press on. In my last visit with her, she continued to be herself; strong, alert, aware of who I was, asking questions, expressing her needs, her thoughts, right to the end. And then just five days short of the modest celebration that was being planned for her, a reunion, (one that I believe she was looking forward to) she simply slipped away. Or rather, the Lord slipped her away to join a different reunion…a reassembling of her first family, a reuniting with her own mother and father, along with her sisters, Regina, Margaret, Clair and Eleanor. Her Lord had taken her home to be with her first family.
So as we say our final goodbye to Martha Mitchell Fanning, may we continue to cherish the gift of Martha and way we always as individuals and as a family cherish our beautiful memories of her. Let her not be forgotten.