Jim Martin,
Thank you so much for your e-mail this morning. Knowing Frank as you did, you know he would never have been upset that you didn't stop while passing through Illinois at Christmas time, he would have thought also, getting home to your family was most important. Second in line to his own love of family, was his love of friends and history. I was so lucky to see him twice this year, and was hoping to do so again in Spring. I'm saddened that this is my reason for returning to Springfield now. Just as it is for all of you, no longer having the chance to communicate with him and read his opinions, it is overwhelmingly sad for me also. I will most miss his daily or weekly e-mails, the timing of which depended soley on how much he had to share at the time, or how funny he thought my question might have been. Each time I uncovered another relative in our family tree, he would quickly relate the stories that went with the person, which for me, brought life to the name.
Our family (the Moore's) go back to the mid 1850's in Springfield, so Frank was my teacher also about the city he loved. Frank's mother, Elizabeth Rose Moore Campo, was my dad's sister, and from the time we were kids, we always drove to Springfield to visit his family. He and his two sisters, became my favorite cousins. I'm sure every time I now enter a new name in the family tree, I will automatically try to type Frank's e-mail address to ask his opinion about my new find....and will have to stop sadly mid-way in the process.
For years I thought I had few cousins, which seems unusual when Frank's mother and my father were two of thirteen siblings, as the rest of us never seemed to find time to learn about each other and connect. But Frank was on a mission this past summer and organized the first ever, Moore Family Reunion, which was held in Lincoln Park, directly across from Calvary Cemetery in Springfield, where specifically, our great-grandfather Alexander Moore rested. There was a reason he wanted to meet there, in view of Alexander's grave, because Alexander was our Civil War veteran, a member of the Illinois 90th Infantry, Co.F. He said it was only appropriate the first time we got together that we did so in the shadow of a man who fought for what he believed in. Another lesson learned from Frank.
My greatest regret, besides losing Frank, is that he passed just weeks before the book, "Chicago's Irish Legion, The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War" written by James B. Swan, will be published. Jim and his wife Pat, joined us for our reunion, and shared their experiences with us, while writing this book. Frank was thrilled that they shared their time and thoughts that day. The book will be published March 17, 2009, but I can only assume, now that Frank is with those who went before us, he already knows the story and got the first hand version from our Alexander.
I intend to print all the kind words you have all expressed on this message board and share with his immediate family this week. For those of you who have never met Frank personally, I would think you'd like to put a name with a face also....so if you choose to, you can go to the following website and read his obituary and see his smiling face. http://www.kirlin-egan-butler.com/_mgxroot/page_10730.php
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.......it is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Sharon Moore