Paula Franks

Paula Jane Franks, age 56, of Marietta, Ga., formerly of Tuscaloosa, died Nov. 18, 2010, at home. Services will be 11 a.m. Monday at Memory Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Paul Graetz of Atlanta Metropolitan Community Church officiating. Burial will follow at Memory Hill Gardens with Memory Chapel Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial Provider, directing. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the funeral home.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Orville and Pauline Franks; and her daughter, Amanda Jayne Hughes.

Survivors include her daughter, Kim Skelton (John); son, Matt Skelton (Misty); their father, Mike Skelton (Linda); and a host of family, friends, and kindred spirits.

Paula Jane Franks was born March 11, 1954, in Haleyville, Ala. to Orville and Pauline Franks. A 1972 graduate of Tuscaloosa High School, she went on to study nursing at the University of Alabama and worked as a medical transcriptionist at DCH for many years.

Larger than life, Paula was an intensely loving, generous, and adventurous individual who challenged those around her to live life more fully. An ordained minister and fiercely creative woman, Paula had a gift for connecting with others and found herself at home in spiritual communities. She fought for the underdog, accepted others unconditionally, and never settled for the status quo. Her huge heart and tender, trusting spirit lives on through those who knew and loved her. She is deeply missed.

Pallbearers will be Matt Skelton, John Hayes, Phillip Hayes, Andrew Connell, and Nick Sanners.

Honorary pallbearers are members of Metropolitan Community Church, friends and coworkers from DCH Medical Transcription, and Little Bits Animal Rescue.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the national Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.