Heloïse Ruth Albritton M.A. ’77, beloved mother, grandmother and glorious daughter of God, joined her Lord on Thursday evening, Aug. 14, 2014, in East Meredith. She was surrounded by most of her seven children and devoted caretakers, her home filled with the music and flowers she loved.
Heloïse was born in 1928, in Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand), to Dr. Errett and Mrs. Rietta Albritton. The family returned to America in 1931, where Heloïse became an accomplished student, pianist, active Young Federalist and an original candy striper. She graduated with honors from Swarthmore College in 1950. An intellectual beatnik and liberal thinker, Heloïse enjoyed Greenwich Village where she chatted with Pete Seeger and Jackson Pollock. But, it was James Hartwell Frame – a young man from a small town in Iowa – who captured her heart – over a spilled bowl of punch. They wed in 1951 and were married for 47 years until his death in 1997. They had seven children and more than 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Heloïse was a devoted servant of the Lord, personally and professionally. She returned to school in her late 40s and earned a master’s degree from Santa Clara University in California. Over 60 years, she opened her home to many seekers in the conviction of God’s promise in Deuteronomy that, "He sets the lonely in families." She was the spiritual mentor, gifted counselor and healer of many searching souls. Heloïse co-launched House of Bread Ministries in California in the 1970s continued her calling in New York City in the 1980s, developing her 12-step Deprivation Neuroses Anonymous group program and then founded The Lazarus Center in Oneonta in 1992, maintaining her practice there until 2009, then choosing to continue her spiritual work from her home office in East Meredith. Heloïse will be greeted in heaven by those who went before her – her husband, James; brother, Rogers; her parents; daughter-in-law, Clara; and great-grandson, Caiden; as well as numerous friends; and spiritual offspring. Early in the evening of her last day, she was able to share in her cherished sunset prayer, saying to the Lord – as she had every day for many years – "Let us usher in a new day, now beginning with rest."