Frances D'Amico Power

Frances DAmico Power, better known to loved ones as Granny Frank, of Oakwood, Georgia, died at the age of 88 on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 in Gainesville, Ga.

Born on March 31, 1923 in Elberton, Georgia, Frances was the eldest daughter of the five children of Julian and Cora DAmico. Frances fondly remembered growing up with her four siblings in Elbertonroaming freely in the small town, playing, collecting and burying arrowheads, and developing a life-long love of exploring wild places. From a young age, Frances was known for her independent and feisty spirit.

Frances married Tom Power, also from Elberton, GA, in 1944, in Fort Myers Florida. While Tom finished his service with the Army Air Corps, Frances attended nursing school at Duke University and was in the Nurse Cadet Corps. Because of the shortage of medical personnel due to the war, she ended up, as a senior student, managing a pediatric unit and was awarded the coveted Nightingale Lamp for most outstanding Student Nurse of her class. She continued her work as a hospital nurse after graduation, managing a pediatric ward in Charlotte, NC.


After the birth of her second child Frances stayed home to raise her family. In the late 1950s the family moved to East Point, Georgia. As her children grew up, Frances volunteered considerable time coordinating neighbors and friends to establish and run a preschool program for underserved families in East Point. It was a Head Start program before there was Head Start. She fondly remembered the families and children she worked with during those years and the congenial camaraderie of the neighborhood ladies that helped her teach and nourish them.

As the nest emptied, Frances & Tom began taking semiannual weekend tripsonce each spring and once each fallto parks around the state of Georgia with these neighborhood friends and their families. Even as people moved to new neighborhoods, cities, and states, these Dabney Terrace Alumni continued to have twice-yearly reunions in the mountains of North Georgia for over 30 years, helping to inspire an appreciation and enjoyment of nature in their children and grandchildren.

In the 1970s she became a bookkeeper for her husband in his consulting business. Her financial acumen was amazing. She knew the tax code backwards and forwards and continued tracking all of her own finances, and was crunching numberson paperto the end.

After retiring in the 1980s Frances and her husband moved to Oakwood, Georgia to be near their granddaughters. Frances delighted in the exploits of her children and grandchildren, and recently, especially those of her young great-grandchildren. She was lucky to have such an interesting crew of them. Her passions included playing cards, nature (wildflower gardening, bonsai, birds), mystery books, and keeping up on the latest current events to keep us all on our toes. She asked questions about everything and delighted when her smart children/grandchildren knew the answers, and when they didnt know she directed them to find out for her.

Frances is survived by Thomas H. Power, her husband of 65 years; daughters Julia Serences of Sacramento, CA; Susan Harmon of Oakwood, GA; and Sara Power of Philomath, OR; brothers James DAmico of Fayetteville, GA; and Julian DAmico of Mooresville, NC.

Granny was remembered with a small family gathering Thursday, October 13 at the family home in Oakwood,Georgia.

Remembrances in her name can be sent to local food banks or your local public library.


Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 155 Professional Park Drive, Cumming, Georgia. (678) 455-5815.