3 persons of the year: what about LINDA FRANKLIN ?
what about Linda Franklin? Saturday, October 26, 2002 -- Linda Franklin, victim of sniper, remembered as loving woman News-Journal wire services GAINESVILLE -- Linda Franklin, the ninth victim of the Washington D.C.-area sniper, was remembered Friday as spiritual, loving woman who constantly sought answers to some of life's most difficult questions. About 200 mourners gathered at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to remember Franklin
{47-year-old FBI analyst working on 911 investigation} from Arlington, Va., who spent most of her childhood in Gainesville. "Every summer she would come home for vacation and bring a list of questions," said her father, Charles Moore, as he addressed the tearful audience in the church where Franklin was married. "She would always seek the truth."Franklin was felled by a single shot to the head Oct. 14
as she and her husband loaded their red convertible in the parking lot outside a Home Depot in Falls Church, Va. Moore painfully recalled how, as a child, Franklin questioned everything from religion to how to dress. Her pursuit for the truth helped her earn a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Florida. "She confounded me, frustrated me, tormented me," Moore said. "But I loved her." Her death came two months after the Moores lost their granddaughter in a car accident, said church rector Gordon H. Tremaine. "I've seldom seen people be brutalized by two such remarkable occurrences together," said Tremaine, who counseled the Moores. "They have had their whole world explode." There was no direct mention of the sniper during the service. Afterward, Tremaine said the family was relieved that no one else would fall victim to the sniper's random shot. "He's glad they caught him," Tremaine said, referring to Thursday's capture of suspects John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. "But I didn't hear any desire for vengeance." Franklin's survivors include her husband, Ted, two grown children, Thomas Belvin and Katrina Hannum, and her parents, brother and sister. Franklin's body was buried earlier this week in National Memorial Park in Alexandria, Va. "She called every week," said Moore as he fought back tears. "She hasn't called for a few weeks and it hurts."