Frances "Frannie" Millward

What is often heard when the once young reflect on the influence of Frances May Ryan Millward (“Frannie”) is that “she saved my life”. She was not an emergency room doctor or a first responder; yet she indeed saved lives. She was a youth minister catching teenagers at their most fragile and vulnerable. She listened when they felt unheard, she embraced when they felt unloved, and she engaged them in serving others when they felt useless. In her eyes, they were special children of God with gifts and talents, and in her presence and beyond their service to others brought the purpose and meaning that made life worth living. Over the course of her 97 years, she inspired multitudes to serve others in their careers and in their faith journeys. Though her earthly journey ended on May 11, 2024, her legacy of agape, faith and service live on in all of us who were enriched by her life.

Frannie was born on July 30 th , 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio as the first daughter of Norman Ryan (a lawyer) and Mary Hoffmann Ryan (a minister). While her brothers Irving (“Bud”) and John followed their father’s path into the law, and her sister, Kathie, became an educator, Frannie was drawn to ministry like her mother. Their ministry started from the back porch of their house on West 101 st street near Madison Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, where young people from the neighborhood would come to the open and loving home that her parents created. While her brother and sister worked pin setting at the local bowling alley, Frannie was doing home visits for the Society for Crippled Children. She graduated from West High School  and attended Schauffler College of Religious and Social Work in Cleveland and received a degree in Social Work and Christian Education. She also attended the University of Vermont and Oberlin Theological School, which fueled her passion for youth ministry.

Frannie got a lot out of youth group herself. She was attending a youth group hayride at West Boulevard Christian Church when she met her future husband, Harold (“Hal”) Millward. Hal apparently became sure that Frannie was “the one” while stationed overseas in the Army. So, he had his father deliver the ring and the proposal to Frannie and she married Hal when he returned home safely. They had three children: Jim (Sue), John (Sue), and Chrissie (Leo), nine grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. Frannie was not a typical mother, as her skills in the kitchen were notoriously limited, but she was the mother that all her kids’ friends ended up talking to in the wee hours when they needed someone to listen without judgement.

Frannie’s approach to Christian Education found its roots in the broad invitations to serve the least of these in Matthew 25:40. Her youth groups may have been housed in one church at a time but they drew youth from all backgrounds and faith traditions. This open invitation was often easier for churches to embrace in theory than in practice and she periodically had to find new homes for her youth ministry. This led her to serve six different congregations over the course of her career as a Youth Minister/Director of Christian Education including Church of the Ascension in Lakewood (with Rev. Stuart Cole), St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Berea, Olmsted Falls Community Church in Olmsted Falls, St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, Heights Christian Church in Shaker Heights, and First Congregational Church in Berea. Frannie also initiated ecumenical youth service groups like Teen Eastern Area Community Helpers (TEACH) and Teen Out Reach through Christian Help (TORCH) that engaged youth in summer workcamps from Appalachia to Wyoming, from London to Jamaica, or working with the Farmworkers in California or the Tribes at the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota or the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming where her youth groups could experience different people and cultures through service. From construction projects and cleaning to volunteer work with the elderly, the infirmed, and the developmentally disabled, Frannie’s mission was to engage and deliver enriching experiences for all participants. Frannie embraced her Father’s duck-like approach to life: a calm demeanor on the surface that lets rainwater flow off her back all the while paddling furiously underneath.

When she was working at First Church in Berea, she founded an organization to move food, household goods and furniture to those in need. Frannie would engage her disciples to pick up excess food and deliver it to the hungry, to help transition the elderly into more manageable housing while repurposing that furniture to resettle refugees, and to provide donated goods to the homeless and others in need. This would eventually become Church Street Ministries and Second Mile Outreach, an organization that continues to serve Berea and surrounding communities today. Frannie even engaged the Baldwin Wallace football team to gather donated school supplies to deliver to school kids in need. Frannie’s legendary work in Berea was recognized by the Berea Chamber of Commerce when at 69 she was awarded the Grindstone Award.

In her later years, she found delight in dancing to her son’s and grandson’s rock bands and supporting Cleveland sports teams. Even a week before her death, she was out dancing with friends and family. Throughout all of these chapters of her life, Frannie was sustained by an unwavering faith that all Children of God had special gifts to offer. She loved without condition, she listened without judgement, and as a result she brought out the best in people. She offers us a blueprint for healing our fractured world. Faith, love, and service are her legacy. It is now up to us to “Pass It On” as we “Go in Peace and Walk in Love.”

A memorial service is scheduled for June 13th at 4:00 pm at St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 50 East Bagley Road, in Berea Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Second Mile Outreach (formerly Church Street Ministries), founded by Frannie to serve the community, either on-line at secondmileoutreach.org or mailed to 1480 W. Bagley Rd., Berea, OH 44017. Donations may also be made to one of Frannie’s favorite workcamp outposts by sending a check to the Lotts Creek Community School at 5837 Lotts Creek Road in Hazard, Kentucky 41701.