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I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Davis for two years at Killian. I was entrusted by Francine with the honorable duty of retrieving bagels for the class, but also to signal her when she may be getting too off topic during the course of the class. As any student of Mrs. Davis knows, when she would get asked a question about anything, she would often use it as an opportunity to talk about EVERYTHING! One day, after a class in which one of her responses took the majority of the class period, she took me aside and told me to signal her by holding my hand up when she may be getting too far off topic. I forgot what the exact conversation was, but I think I told her that I didn’t want to stop her from talking because we all enjoyed her tangents so much. After all, these were not any normal tangents by any other teacher, these were Frangents. I don’t remember who said it first, but I do remember the smile and laugh that followed. In the following days, I became the Frangent flag for the class. I was to hold up my hands and make an “F” with my fingers to signal her when I determined that we had entered Frangent territory. That later evolved to the FrangOMeter, created by Leah Volpe, which we used to add more detail to the Frangent scale. This was a color coded meter with an arrow pointing to one of three sections, Green, Yellow, and Red for the most extreme cases. As you can guess, it was almost always in the red. While my post might be riddled with punctuation and grammar mistakes and breaks all the LINKS rules Mrs. Davis drilled into our brains, I remember so much from my time as her student. She forever changed my life and so many others with her kindness, warmth, and humor. I’m so grateful for the time we spent together. Love you so much.

Hi Mrs. Davis! I remember this time in Riviera when you called Jonathan during one of our classes to talk about what we were learning. You kept going on your famous frangents, and then all of a sudden, you hung up on Jonathan because you “were talking too much”. I thought it was so funny how you called him and then suddenly decided that you had gone on “too many frangents” . Your frangents are always lovable and there are never “too many”!! Thank you for always bringing us joy through your frangents!! Love, Victoria Smith

Mrs. Davis; thank you for being a light throughout my years in high school. Your friendliness, bright disposition, love for creativity and pushing boundaries, and heartfelt teaching earned you the position as being one of the most adored teachers in our school. Thank you for being so kind and giving with your students, for encouraging us to wonder beyond the limitations we place upon ourselves, and for making acting out Shakespearean plays in class one of the silliest and most treasured memories I have of high school. You are a light in so many lives, and I know that your wisdom and love for education has touched every student you have taught throughout your career. Thank you for empowering me to continue to explore literature and writing. Your lessons encouraged me to work towards perfecting it and using it in a way to help others. Just as you helped me with my essays, now I do the same for others in my own career. I, in part, owe a lot of my love for English to you. You are an irreplaceable gem on this planet. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do, against all odds. Kasandra Vazquez, Riviera Prep Class of 2018.

Mrs. Davis, Thank you for teaching me that writing is about so much more than skill. Our weeks of reviewing Links in tutorial, note-filled essays handed back to me, and AEC paragraphs are all secondary. Of course, they help me use my voice, but you truly showed me that I have one worth using. I remember one poem I wrote that you encouraged me to read in front of the class, and even told me I should get published. Truthfully, the poem was probably nothing special and did not have any kind of impact on how I write. Still, the confidence I had when I wrote anything after that is something that cannot be taught…it takes someone truly special to know exactly what a student needs to succeed. Thank you for your passion, devotion, and genuine love for what you do. You are so appreciated and you will forever have an impact on everybody who knows you. Love always, Jenna Weber

December 2, 2020 Dearest Francine, I am so sorry that I did not tell you on Sunday how much your friendship has meant to me over these past 34 years; it did not occur to me that it was going to be the last time I would get to see your beautiful face. You are such a loving, kind, generous, smart, honorable, beautiful and humble woman! Your, Alan’s and Jonathan’s participation in all our family holidays and celebrations and your company on numerous vacations has added so much joy to our lives. I cannot imagine the future without you and am saddened to know that this is imminent. What profound words can I say? Nothing can fully communicate the quiet comfort and beauty of your loving presence. You have always been so content to just be part of things, never requiring attention or the limelight, lest you take it from someone else. You have always been so proud of your family, your students and your colleagues; always singing their praises and always minimizing your own role in others’ successes and accomplishments. You have always made everyone around you feel special and loved. You are very much like Rita Snay that way; providing unconditional love and acceptance to those fortunate enough to know you. No one will ever be able to fill the void that you will leave in our lives. It is an especially terrible loss to your wonderful sons, Jonathan and Jimmy, but especially to Jonathan; with whom you have had such a close and loving relationship. Pat and I are both so glad that he can be by your side these last weeks. We know his heart must be breaking although he, like you, possesses a quiet strength and calmness that gives comfort to all those around you and him. You must be so happy to know that your son is so deft at coordinating everything for you and helping all of us who love you to deal with this saddest of times. He really is a remarkable young man! Fran, you have been a dear friend and I only hope that I gave back to you one tenth of the love and respect that that you have always shown me. I must admit that Pat and I have often laughed about you and Alan being so meticulous that you would always prepare a ‘rehearsal dinner’ before any actual dinner where you were serving something you had not previously prepared. I now realize that you did this because you and he cared so much about everyone enjoying themselves that you wanted to leave nothing to chance! You are truly extraordinary! I am so glad that you and Alan were able to join Pat and me on our 2017 European Summer Vacation; we had the best time ever and know you and Alan did, too, as we traversed across Italy, Spain and France; eating delicious meals and shopping ‘til we dropped! I will post photos from that wonderful time on the website Jonny set up and hope you get to see them one last time. I am also so sad that our Spring 2020 Caribbean Cruise was cancelled due to COVID-19 as I know we would have had a wonderful time together…again! Fran, I don’t think you believe in Heaven or Hell but I do and there is no doubt that you will be taking the Express Elevator right up to Heaven, where God will greet you in all His Glory and welcome you to nothing but joy and happiness forevermore because you have always been such a good soul. Believing this with all my heart, I am comforted to think that I will see you again someday (assuming I, too, get into Heaven) and that this farewell is not forever. May your final days be filled with peace, love and the contentedness of knowing that your dedication to making the lives of all those around you better than they would have been otherwise has not gone unnoticed. You have surely left the world a better place and you will be sorely missed for the rest of our lives. With great love and admiration, Bentonne

Dear Mrs. Davis, thank you for everything you have done for me. I am so sad about our time being cut short, but I want to let you know how grateful I am to have been able to even experience having you as my teacher. Since 6th grade, everyone would speak about you and say, “she is the best teacher ever”. Then, the students who did not have you were so jealous. Then, in the senior skit, you seemed so fun and nice and I was so excited to have you. If you were in the senior skit every year, you had to be special. I am so happy that I got the experience of being your student. I loved helping you and getting excited when you figured out how to share your screen or post on google classroom. Having you as a teacher is like being with royalty. You are a legend not only at Riviera but as a teacher anywhere. When I found out that you taught my dad, I was excited because I knew we had a special connection immediately. Then when Riley was obsessed with you and felt so close with you, I could not wait to have you. I want to thank you again and again and again for the impact you have left on my life and I am incredibly lucky to know you. I love you so much and love bonding with you over absolutely everything: politics, being Jewish, telling you the gossip about my grade, getting advice from you, and just anything. I love you so much and thank you for being the most amazing teacher and the most loving person I know. Love, Avery Simon

Of all the professors I’ve come to know, Francine Davis stands as the most uniquely inspiring presence I’ve ever had the privilege to experience. Her unbelievable friendliness, helpfulness, and insight served (and in truth, still serves) as one of the strongest voices of insight I have known in the world. Mrs. Davis has an absolutely iconic identity, which has touched the lives of so many people – to the betterment of all. While the future will always remain a mystery, I wish the absolute world for her and her family, and remain grateful to have had the chance to be one of her English students. – (From Oliver Peet-Arosemena)

Mrs. Davis, you taught my son, Dane Silva, in 2003-2004, his 11th grade year at Killian. You truly were the BEST Language Arts, teacher he ever had, if not the best teacher all together. You made a writer out of him, despite his challenges, which frankly, I thought was impossible. I honestly believe that you are the reason that he was able to obtain his master’s degree which required a 140-page thesis. There aren’t enough words to express my sincere gratitude for everything you did for Dane. My mother is a retired schoolteacher and she was amazed at what an extraordinary teacher you were and the dedication that you had for your students. She always said that the love you have for teaching was obvious and she has so much respect for you, as do I. Teachers like you are a rare breed and we are so blessed that he fortunate enough to have been in your class. For the lessons you taught my son and especially for the confidence in writing that you instilled in him, I will be forever indebted to you. Your legacy will live on in our hearts forever. Lovingly Neva Silva-Craddock

Dear Ms. Davis, what can I say, you’ve done so much for me these past couple of years and I can’t thank you enough. You’ve inspired me in every way possible with your kindness, your jokes, and your intelligence. You brightened every room you walked into with your smile and charisma. You’ve impacted me and inspired me to become a better writer as well as a better person. I can assert that you’ve changed many people’s lives and remain the most iconic Riviera teacher. There are no dry eyes in Riviera, everyone misses you and loves you. You never ceased to make my days better, comfort me, and make me laugh by calling me “Miss. Candle.” I can still remember when you brought a candle and oregano to Zoom to celebrate Silvana’s birthday, it was truly one of the purest and most heartwarming moments ever. Apart from your bright personality, you carried knowledge. You always put your students first, and you still do. You made the classroom fun and helped me grow a special affinity towards English. I will never forget when you told me that you viewed me as your daughter; I felt special, loved. I’m so lucky to say that MS. DAVIS was my teacher. You pushed me through the hardest moments and supported me through my worst moments. You cheered me on. You are one of a kind Ms. Davis, one of a kind. I get teary eyes just thinking about the few moments we enjoyed together. Your family and your friends are so so so lucky to have you. I LOVE YOU- Candela Jimenez

Mrs. Davis, it’s Annabelle Lee here and I have so much to say. Let me begin with the fact that there are no dry eyes at Riviera today. I have cried my eyes out all afternoon because of how much you mean to me. You transformed English for me. I used to dislike the subject, yet I would joyfully enter your room as you always managed to put a smile on my face. You were always so energetic and you created some beautiful memories that I can cherish forever. We did not get along at first, but you were one of the few individuals that spent the time to truly get to know me. This, in and of itself, is enough. You did what most do not waste their time doing. We built a bond that is stronger than I have had with most teachers. Your enthusiasm for teaching is unparalleled and no one will ever impact their students to the level that you have. I wish you nothing but the best always and I hope to see you again one day. Love you more than you will ever know.