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Frances was an inspiring scholar and I owe much to her no-nonsense approach to my early research efforts. I met her during my postgraduate year at the University of Michigan as a recipient of the Queen’s Belfast-University of Michigan exchange scholarship (1978-79). Not only did Frances get me to mature as a medievalist but she also demonstrated for me the value of taking a humane approach to the task. As such, she showed a degree of patience and humour in her professional dealings with me that was quite unusual at the time and probably greater than I deserved. Our shared history and experiences as undergraduates at Queen’s no doubt helped in that respect. We enjoyed many happy moments of laughter and reminiscence during that memorable year and for many years afterwards on the all-too-rare occasions when we again met. She talked often of her family at home and I’m so delighted she came home to them and had the enjoyment of meeting and getting to know the younger ones. Frances was a beautiful person and always young at heart. I have many happy memories of her and send my sincere condolences to all those whom she has left behind, both here and abroad.

John Thompson