Dorothy, his mother, suffered from Tuberculosis. In those days, TB patients were treated in sanitariums. Patients were isolated from the outside world, and many never returned, succumbing to the disease.
The difficulty of his mother’s absence left a lifelong mark, a sensitivity to love, absence, and brokenness within the family.
Nevertheless, Frank watched his father Emmett care for the woman they both loved dearly. His father was faithful to Dorothy throughout her illness, whereas many in the sanitorium were left and forgotten. He never forgot his father’s love and loyalty, even after Dorothy Stafford recovered and returned home.
“Twice a month we’d drive there. I’d not be able to go in, but I could see her in her second floor window. I spoke to her from the grass below. I couldn’t touch her for those 3 or 4 years. I knew that I was living in an environment that was missing something.”