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July 25, 2019Frank Sickinger was a gentle and pure soul; a family man; a hard worker who rarely missed a day of work; a fun-loving, diehard Mets Fan; a friend to all. Frank passed away on Christmas of 2017, but his memory will live on forever.
Frank also happened to have an intellectual disability. For nearly 20 years, Frank lived in Catholic Charities, Department for Persons with Disabilities group homes and worked at the Department’s Gruenert Center.
Frank lived much of his adult life at Wallace House. Wallace House is a large ranch style home in Sparta, New Jersey. It provides help and creates hope for 5 men and women with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Wallace House opened in Sparta in 2000, becoming the Department’s first program in Sussex County. The house was donated by Frank’s family and upgraded to meet the needs of those with disabilities.
“We, like many other families, didn’t know what to do, when our parents fell ill. Frank had lived at home for his entire life. When my parents passed away, Frank looked at me and said ‘what is going to happen to me’? Luckily, there was the Department for Persons with Disabilities to help,” said Frank’s sister, Sr. Denise Sickinger, FMA, a Salesian Sisters of Saint John Bosco.
Frank lived a productive life at Wallace and later Giuliano House. Frank hardly ever missed a day of work, was devoted to his Catholic Faith, volunteered for numerous organizations, and was a Knight of Columbus, at Our Lady of the Lake, Council #588.
On July 24 th, a ceremony was held to remember Frank at Wallace House. The event attended by many of the Salesian Sisters, Frank’s friends from DPD, and the staff members who worked with Frank throughout the last 20 years. A plaque was also unveiled in the home’s main hallway. The plaque, similar to those in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park and at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, has an image of Frank sculpted on to it. “This lifelike image of Frank will greet all visitors to Wallace House with a smile, just like Frank would have,” said Father Thomas Dunne, SDB, as he blessed the plaque, now hanging at Wallace House.
Also in attendance was Billy, who lives at Wallace House. Billy had the fortune of moving into Wallace House when Frank moved out. Billy never lived with Frank, but still refers to his room as “Frank’s room.” “Frank is here with us today, looking down from Heaven,” Billy said.
Scott Milliken, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities alongside Sr. Teresa Gutierrez, FMA; Billy from Wallace House; Sr. Denise Sickinger, FMA; Father Thomas Dunne, SDB; and Joanna Miller, Executive Director, Department for Persons with Disabilities.
The Salesian Sisters of Saint John Bosco at Wallace House
