Frances Adonelia Bustos

Some among those who loved her so much gave her their own special names of endearment: of course she answered to Mom, Sister, Grannie, Auntie, Godmother. But she also was known as Mamacita, Panchita, Francine, and the Jewel. And to many she was simply friend.

One description of Frannie, no matter the name she answered to, will forever be “Beloved.”

Frannie was born on February 25, 1930 near the little town of Chupaderos in New Mexico. She spent 90 years and 8 months on this earth. Frances lived a full life … abounding in experiences, relationships, challenges, beauty, sorrows, and joys.

She is preceded in death by her beloved Grandmother, Angelica who she lived with as a child while she attended school, her oldest sister Tomasita who went to heaven at the young age of 9 months, her husband Manual, her first son who was stillborn, her parents Paul Griego and Emilina Trujillo Griego, brothers Jerry and June Griego, sister Sarah Romero, grandson-in-law Damon Barnhill, and several cousins and friends.

Frances is survived by her sons Jake and his wife Mary, Bob and his wife Donna, Chuck and his wife Vicki, four grandsons and two granddaughters – Ryan (wife Renee), Scott (wife Amber), Justin (wife Rosi,) Caleb, Katie, and Leslie (husband Jason.) She is also survived by her sister and best friend, Rose, her two brothers Sacie and Jesse and their spouses, Fred, Norma, and Jan. Frannie has 16 great grandchildren and her first great great granddaughter is due to arrive in February, 2021. In addition, she is loved deeply by numerous nieces and nephews.

New Mexico is where she grew up until about the age of 15. In 1945, Frannie moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming to seek a job at the Union Pacific train depot. At that time, she altered her year of birth from 1930 to 1929 so she could obtain her driver’s license and land the job. That is probably the only time in her 90 years that she did anything remotely illegal! It was at the train depot that she met a handsome green eyed man who became her husband. In 1946, at the tender age of 16, Frances married Manual Jose’ Bustos. They shared a 27 year marriage.

Frances and Manual called Granite and Sunrise, Wyoming “home” during their early years of marriage. She worked as a cook at the well-known Remount Ranch 20 miles west of Granite after she married. After her first son was stillborn, Frances’ second son, Jake, was born in Laramie, Wyoming in April, 1951. Soon after, she and Manual moved to Henderson, Colorado. Two more sons followed – Bob in February, 1953 and Chuck in July, 1954. Hers was a busy household with three little sons all under the age of four.

In 1956, Manual and Frances bought their home in Commerce City, Colorado. This is the home where they raised their sons, the home Frannie would dwell in until 1997. Sitting on a large lot, the home was a single room with a small kitchen and an outdoor bathroom. It did not take long for Frannie and Manual to build their indoor bathroom, and in time they added on a beautiful livingroom that spanned across the full front of the house. They worked together upgrading, and made a home for their family.

Frannie had a strong work ethic. She and her sister, Rose, worked at Baileys making coveralls and jackets from 1960-1963. She then began a job with Creative Pendants – Mr. Brandis – and remained with him for 10 years where she did silk screening of shirts and outerwear. After her husband passed away in April of 1973, Frannie joined a company on 1st and Galapago that made ski jackets; she also learned the city streets and made deliveries. And then there was the final job which she retired from … the job that she was uniquely created for by God … the job that was really not a job at all. Instead it was a calling, it was her ministry.

From 1978 through 1995, Frannie worked in a variety of capacities with patients at Denver General Hospital. In 1982, she was honored as the Employee of the Year, four short years after she began working at DGH. She worked on the 8th floor in the intermediate care unit as a hospital attendant and eventually as a tech. She floated to other floors also where she made a difference in the lives of patients and co-workers. She completed her career at Denver General on the 4th floor in the ICU. When she received Employee of the Year, an article in the H&H News described Frannie as a loyal employee, a patient advocate, a positive force, and a very supportive team member. Her supervisor, Marilyn, said that she went out of her way to aid and assist the patients both physically and spiritually, doing extras for patients such as bringing them clothes from home or items that they needed for their comfort or hygiene.

Frannie put her bilingual skills to great use, often serving as a Spanish interpreter between doctors and patients or their families, communicating information to those who were unable to speak English. She devoted herself to accuracy in her interpretation by increasing her knowledge in her off hours. If you stopped by her home, you would often find her medical dictionary open on the kitchen table where she studied the translation of medical terms from English to Spanish.

Frannie spoke often and tenderly about sharing Jesus with her patients. She led many people to the Lord … even some who had been atheists all their lives. Soul winning was her passion and Frannie saw many death bed conversions. In her Bible is a note about a man named Lloyd. She wrote, “prayed for him before he died. He had never believed in God. But in the end, he did. I’ll see him there when I go home with my God.” She spoke often about the joyful reunion she anticipated with each one of them inside the gates of Heaven. Her anticipation was realized last Saturday, October 31, 2020.

Frances retired from Denver General Hospital in 1995, but she did not retire from ministry. After selling her Commerce City home where she had lived for 40 years, she moved to Westminster, Colorado. During the years between August 1997 and 2020, Frannie shared God’s love with neighbors, friends, family, and in her last months of life, she shared His love with her care providers.

After retirement, one of the highlights of her life was to babysit her great grandchildren. She spent multiple hours caring for her first great grandson, Joey, when he was a baby and toddler. She cherished the fact that she saw him take his first steps at the early age of 10 ½ months.

Frannie enjoyed her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and her extended family. She spent many holidays and birthdays celebrating with her sister Rose and her family. She loved coffee with her brothers, collecting Precious Moments and beautiful treasures, eating at Wishbone with just about anyone who would join her there, chatting with people and smiling at children, praying and reading, spending time outdoors, soft tacos at Los Arcos and sausage and peppers at Three Sons. She oohed and awed about God’s creation … the sky and the clouds, flowing rivers, flowers, horses, trees, rabbits, white fences, bluejays, the mountains, and the Autumn aspens when they turned gold and orange. She learned much from television preachers …

Rex Humbardt, Robert Schuller, and Charles Stanley. These are a few of her favorite things, but her absolute favorite was sunsets.

Although a person must make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ in order to be born again, it seems, if it were possible, Frannie was born again from her mother’s womb. Her heart seems to have always been set on the Lord. She never could pinpoint a date when she gave her life to Jesus because she said that she always loved Him since she was a little girl. At a very young age, her desire was to be a Catholic nun. Although she never wore the nun’s covering, she wore the habit of a minister to all of us and to many whose names most of us do not even know. Frannie had the compassion and generosity of Jesus.

She was human … oh yes she was. Imperfect in some of her ways … just as each of us are. But she surely displayed the Divine One through her life. She lived dependent upon His grace and trusted God, Jesus, Holy Spirit. She loved to read her Bible … Psalms 84, 86, 91, and 139 were among her favorite chapters. She left many treasured notes inscribed in her own distinct handwriting on the pages of her Bibles and several gems tucked in between. And she has left us with anticipation and hope that we will surely meet her again just inside the eastern gate.

When Mom and I would greet each other, we most often gave each other a kiss and then rubbed our noses together. Her delightful giggle still rings in my ears as she would say, “my nose are cold!” Then I would ask: “do you have two noses Mom?” It was our ritual … our inside joke. I think when she and I reunite at Heaven’s gate again, we will kiss and rub noses and giggle together as she once again tells me, “my nose are cold.”

What do you anticipate hearing Frannie say or do on your beautiful reunion day? It can happen … must happen… will happen. She loved well … Jesus and us. Shall we do as she did? She has promised that she will be waiting for each of us at the gate. I believe her. You can too.