She joined the Clown Alley of London in September 2003 and was an active member both in the alley and in the community charity events where the members volunteer their clown talents. Fran learned to face paint and used this craft at the fund-raising walks for Multiple Sclerosis and Heart and Stroke. She walked in the London Santa Claus Parade with The Clown Alley of London one year - that was a lot of steps for those tiny clown feet! Even though there were times when she was not feeling well, she contributed - providing a snack for our meetings, donating gifts to be given out as door prizes or red nose awards, just coming to a meeting. That was Fran, doing what she could when she could.

She became a member of The Clown Jewels, a care clown troupe operating out of Regional Mental Health Care, and did her clown rounds at the Mount Hope site. She put a lot of time and effort into organizing a table depicting all the aspects of clowning for a Mount Hope event. In addition, when the Clown Alley decided they wanted to do clown rounds at Chelsey Park Nursing Home, she joined their care clown troupe The Giggle Gang. "Corki" also participated in the first annual clown show that the alley presented at Chelsey Park Nursing Home.

At Wellspring, a cancer support house that offers different programmes, Fran was very involved. According to their staff, she reached out to them taking everything she could to help herself deal with this devastating disease. And then - as she began to feel better - she reached back and embraced others, giving much, much more in return. She did her thing, becoming very involved with others, listening, supporting, volunteering in whatever way she could including answering phones for them. Fran also talked to community groups, families and professionals, sharing her story about living with cancer. She was described as pulling no punches, shooting from the hip with lots of wit and audiences loved her! Staff said they saw a real metamorphosis from the time Fran first started coming to Wellspring. Over the next three to four years she totally changed her image - she came alive, was brighter, joyful, transfigured, like there had been a rebirth.

As Fran became more physically exhausted and weaker, her spirit showed no signs of it. Some days she would be discouraged by the effects the cancer was having on her body preventing her from being more active but her spirit never wavered. Her love for people was always evident.