Fran Decker honored for ‘devotion to others’
‘Retired’ social worker receives Lee Phillips Community Service Award
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Lee Phillips is pictured while serving in the U.S. Army under Gen. George S. Patton.
LOCK HAVEN -- Fran Decker wants the community to know that there are a lot of people who should be recognized for helping those with the beginning stages of Dementia, Alzheimers and related memory issues.
That's why the 2023 recipient of the Kiwanis Club of Lock Haven's Lee Phillips Community Service Award praised a litany of people whose volunteer efforts with the Covenant Cafe Alzheimer-Dementia Support Group have made a difference.
Fran was lauded by the club at its meeting this week at the Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge. She was nominated for the award by Kiwanian Beth Riccardo and Pastor Justin Frear of Covenant United Methodist Church, where the support group is based.
"Those with Alzheimer's want to be treated like everyone else," Fran said, and supporting them and their loved ones with activities and fellowship can mean the world to them.
"We are fortunate to live in a place where so many people step forward to help," she added.
Perhaps it was Melissa Bottorf, a Kiwanian and president of the River Valley Senior Providers Group, who paid Fran the highest compliment, saying that, Fran, through her work with Covenant Cafe and its activities, "has truly created a model for the state to help people" with Dementia and Alzheimers.
She called Fran a "trailblazer" and said there are many who want to model the support group and its activities..
In introducing Fran, Beth Riccardo noted the award recipient has "tremendous devotion to others," was active with Community Nursing, the American Cancer Society, along with the Alzheimer's Association and Covenant Cafe.
Fran noted that the late Lee Phillips, after whom the award is named, actually was a member of the Alzheimer Support Group as he worked to help his late wife, Maddie, deal with the disease.
She called Lee a "humble man" who "always had a smile on his face" and "had such devotion to his wife."
"He did not like the limelight but he cared deeply for his community," she added about Lee.
She talked about the history of the Covenant Cafe, which was formally started in 2016, but noted the support group for memory care had existed since the mid-1980s here.
She praised Covenant United Methodist Church Pastor Frear and members of the church for their devotion to the cause. And she thanked The Express community newspaper for publishing the group's activities and helping to recruit volunteers.
Further, she noted
The Covenant Cafe is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association and the Covenant United Methodist Church of Lock Haven.
For more information about the Covenant Cafe, contact Decker at 570-748-4302 or 570-263-2084.
Phillips was a beloved local resident before his passing at age 94 in 2020. He missed his high school graduation by 12 days but did receive his diploma. After he received his draft notice he decided that he wanted to choose his own branch of service. He wanted to join the Air Corps but was told they were full when he got to the Induction Center. So Lee joined the Army and was trained for the tank corps. When his training was complete he sailed to Europe in October 1944.
When he arrived in Europe he was assigned to the 787th Tank Bn. a part of the 3rd Army headed by Gen. George Patton.
Lee and his company did mop up duty after the Battle of The Bulge and traveled through France and Germany and in May 1945 arrived in Austria where they learned that Germany had surrendered. He was eventually discharged on Dec. 27, 1945.
Lee worked at Casselbury Motor Co. and later purchased Kline and Co., an auto parts and equipment company in Williamsport.
Fran worked as a geriatric social worker. She earned her master's degree from West Virginia University. For more than 40 years, she has worked in the community in a variety of social service and health care settings including the Area Agency on Aging, Community Nursing Service, the American Cancer Society, Albright LIFE and an elder law firm prior to retiring. She remains an active volunteer with the Alzheimer's Association and her church.
Fran is the third recipient of the Phillips award.
Previous honorees were Joanne Heimer (2021) and Margaret Riggle (2022).
The award is co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Lock Haven and The Express community newspaper.
The Kiwanis Club is accepting nominations for the 2024 award. Nominations may be made until July 31, 2024, by sending an email to brolley@lockhaven.com and briccardo@gearhartherr.com naming the nominee and reasons for the nomination.
Criteria includes that the nominee belongs to, is affiliated with or is a member of a civic, charitable, business, social, volunteer, service, fraternal or any organization in Clinton County whose mission is the betterment and/or safety of the community. And/or that the recipient is an individual who reflects Lee's character as a "modest, unsung hero and positive role model."