Fran Tose

Frances Ellen (Fran) Tose was born December 6, 1951 in Philadelphia, PA and died March 18, 2026 in Ithaca, NY. Fran was predeceased by her parents Louis and Florence Tose and by her brothers Howie and Steve.

Fran grew up in Norristown, Pennsylvania where she met her lifelong sister-friends Judy Barringer and Kris Miller at Germantown Academy. Fran studied at Vermont College for Women before following Kris Miller to Ithaca, where Kris was enrolled at Ithaca College. After visiting one weekend, Judy joined Fran and Kris in June 1970. The three friends were inseparable during the several years they lived together.

While Fran’s path in life and her relationships took her to Florida, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and back to Ithaca, she was consistently passionate about music, animals (especially her dogs Jason, Harmony, Chelsea and Asher), social justice, the environment, and travel.

In the late 1970’s and early 1980s, Fran’s passion and talent for music enabled her to become the sound engineer and manager for the Ithaca band Second Hand Rose which included Meg Garvey, Molly McMillen, Vicki Genfan, Janelle Burdell, and Ginny Sadkin.

In 1983, Second Hand Rose made its way to Washington DC to perform at the Sisterfire festival where Fran met Susan Allee, who at that time was a producer of women’s cultural events. The two shared a love of music and spent the next five years together. Through her relationship with Chaya Spector, Fran formed lifelong friendships with those at Lavendar Hill, including Ruby Max Fury, Alan Warshovski, Ned Asta, Yvonne Fisher, Andi Gladstone, and others.

In 1990, while Fran was the volunteer coordinator for AIDSWORK in Ithaca, she helped organize a benefit concert for AIDSWORK at the State Theater in Ithaca with local band Donna the Buffalo, which evolved into the Grassroots Festival held annually in Trumansburg. For her efforts with AIDSWORK, Fran was awarded a certificate of commendation by the Mayor of Ithaca.

Fran was thrilled to be an aunt to Jake Miller, son of Kris Miller and Ellen Baer and Ellen’s son Jesse Baer. And they found her to be “such a cool friend and incredible aunt.”

Fran left Ithaca to work for her friend Richard Bornstein in New York City and then returned to Philadelphia to care for her mother until Florence’s death in 2018. While in Philadelphia, she became friends with neighbors Nelofer and Jet whom she met when her dog Asher became friends with their dog Tank. She was also close to her neighbor Ramy and his sweet family. She moved back to the Ithaca area to be close to her Ithaca family during COVID in 2020, although she sorely missed her favorite hair stylist Irma Breen.

Fran loved to travel. She visited Australia on her own and traveled to Israel, Kenya, and Tanzania with her longtime friend Robyn Wishna. In 2017, she instigated a trip to India and Nepal with Judy and Nancy Zahler (where she met her adopted sister-friend Helen Goldberg).

Fran was a memorable character. Fran was charismatic, funny, charming, creative, and capable of cajoling her friends into exciting adventures and capers. She loved nothing more than a good wager. Her personality inspired fierce loyalty among those who knew her best.

As her health declined and Fran had more difficulty managing her life, Judy, Nancy, and Robyn helped with her healthcare and finances as much as she would allow. They supported her through several hospital and rehabilitation stays and several moves from apartments to assisted living and ultimately into skilled nursing. Long after she could no longer play tennis or enjoy the 1949 40’ Chris Craft she owned with Judy, Fran’s love of music endured, and her Facebook friends and others would often get links to performances by talented and emerging singers and musicians along with appeals to help rescue whales, rhinos, hippos, and other endangered species and the occasional funny animal reel.

If the universe is kind, we’d like to think of Fran soaking up sunshine listening endlessly to Laura Nyro.

Informal gatherings will be held in Ithaca and Philadelphia this summer. Details to follow. For those wishing to honor her memory, donations can be made to your favorite animal welfare group or human rights organization.