Foreword: I
am proud to say my extended family can be found in South Africa,
Canada, Virginia, Texas, Michigan, California, Illinois, Ohio,
and New York. We are networked largely into financial and
managerial positions from Wall Street to Ford Motor Company, to
Morgan Stanley to Price-Waterhouse. Our Franke grandfather came
to Cincinnati, OH at the turn of this century, as did our Jordan
counterpart to London, Ontario (Canada) both becoming blue
collar workers; working with their hands and determination.
Through their industrious endeavors they forged lives, whereby
our Franke-side fathers (Edward and Robert) served in the
military, obtained higher levels of education, and exercised
their minds in largely white-collar positions after the
war's end. Our generation has progressed one step further to
enjoy open-collar jobs, working with advancing technology.
The next generation of Franke's and Jordan's (F-3's
& J-3's) will probably find earning a living even that much
easier - yet all the more challenging.
I'd like to especially welcome all the close members of my
immediate family: my Father, two brothers and sister. They have
been a tremendous source of inspiration and motivation in my
life. My Mother, however, claims a greatful
"thanks," for all the love and care she extended us
over the years before her death on January 1, 1996. She was a
major factor in my life and her presence will truly be missed.
My Franke Aunt's and Uncle's all deserve a special round of
applause for being such great relatives and supporters. They have
raised their own children, my first cousins. My interactions with
them have proved amicable and personally rewarding.
Good news knocked
twice when both my brother Doug and his wife, Dawn brought Harrison into the world in September, 1997. Then
followed my sister Susan, with her baby Celeste (angel) in December, 1997. The two
first-born cousins met each other in Detroit over the New Year's
break. My brother Mike and I are officially double-Uncles with a
new niece and nephew! Our prayers are for the health and
safety of both children and their proud parents.
And then there are the Jordan clan: whoa
boy! Since my Mother had seven siblings, this side calls for a
"little" brain searching. She is survived by brothers
John and Jim after the December, 1997 death of her oldest sister,
Teresa. The family has already mourned the untimely passings of
brothers Joe, Bill and Clem, and an older sister, Dorothy.
Lest we forget my (very alive) Jordan-side
first cousins: an attempt is made at remembering them all -
although there will be some unintentional gaps and gaffs. There
is Jim, Dave, Rick, Tom, Andre, Gerard, Connie, Colleen, Kathy,
Mike, Beth, John (deceased), Patsy, Nonie, Valerie, Colleen and
about a dozen more than my memory serves.
And finally, there are all my first
cousin's children, which brings to mind what Noah must have
deduced when he gathered only two of every creature inside the
ark! A very rough estimate of these second-cousins numbers into a
hundred!
Those who have taken logarithms, discrete
math or simple (?) statistics have an even better idea of the
exponential numbers to which I am referring. *wink*
To all of you I say "welcome and thanks."
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