Dr. Frances Faison Stuart Sharkey, a longtime resident of Los Gatos and resident of Oregon passed away peacefully on January 12th, 2023, listening to her favorite poetry read to her and surrounded by those who loved her dearly. Daughter of the late Abraham Moscow and Margaret Heinsberger, beloved mother, grandmother, physician, author and humanitarian, Frances touched the lives of everyone she met with her kindness, generosity and selflessness. Born on February 26, 1931 in New York City, as an only child, she began her college career in Colorado majoring in biology. Moving back to New York City, she graduated from New York University School of Medicine in 1959. Frances completed her pediatric internship and residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York City where she met and married Dr. Robert Sharkey, a fellow pediatric intern. Throughout Frances’s life, she dedicated her efforts to improving the lives of others; whether it was treating her pediatric patients at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara, bandaging up the neighborhood kids, or vaccinating their pets and horses, she was always available to answer questions and provide a reassuring phone “consultation”. Frances volunteered her medical skills and time in many countries including Haiti, Honduras, Israel and Vietnam. She traveled with organizations including Doctors Without Borders and Interplast. Before the fall of Vietnam, she volunteered for four months at The Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Saigon, South Vietnam known as the Barsky Unit. She was also one of the medical directors for Operation Babylift at the time of the imminent fall of South Vietnam. In the Spring of 1982, St. Martin’s Press published Frances’s book, “A Parting Gift.” Her “little book” as she described it, dealt with her experiences with children and dying. It went on to win two Medical Writing awards, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and translated into 18 languages. Frances was fearless and unfettered by traditional societal constraints; she really did do it her way. She was a teacher to all and her charm, intelligence, beauty and grace endeared her to all. She was a voracious reader and enjoyed sharing her passions for medicine, travel, theater, literature, cultural history, music and science. Survivors include her longtime companion Louise Samuelson; her children, Phillip, Thompson, Margaret, Ethan, and Elizabeth, and her grandchildren, Adira, Miriam, Stefan, Cheyenne, Robert, Sebastian and Liam….”Like to the lark at break of day arising from sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate; For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings.” Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service in celebration of her life TBA in the late Spring.
Published by Mercury News on Feb. 12, 2023.