Many residents in the South Buffalo area know Veronica as the editor of South Buffalo Online News ,  as well as the librarian who volunteered to keep the Cazenovia Community Library running from 2012 - 2014 when the library lost all funding,.   When the private library ran out of funding and the doors were going to close, she offered to take the front desk and keep things going while grants were applied for.  Though the grants never came in, she stayed anyway, and for the next two years kept the Caz Library open, 5-7 days a week, on her own.   It was a mission of love.  This was her library as a child, and her mother's before her.   She left in 2014 for surgery and could not return.   Veronica also publishes South Buffalo Online and has helped countless small businesses over the years to get the word out about them.   South Buffalo born and raised, she has been a generous resident and has given much. 

In November she was  diagnosed with end stage liver disease. Our mother was a fighter. She beat the odds time and time again, coming back from several scares that doctors stopped just short of calling a ‘miracle’. But unfortunately, one can only beat the odds so many times. 

Sadly, on April 20th, one day before Easter, our mother passed away. To put it bluntly, she was found unconscious in her home (due to raised ammonia levels in theblood) and was rushed to Buffalo Mercy hospital. In addition to her elevated ammonia levels, Veronica had an incarcerated hernia in her lower bowel that needed emergency surgery. While the surgery went MUCH better than expected, her body was just not able to recover. She began to lose blood pressure, and by the end, she was maxed out on BP meds and that was the only thing keeping her alive. After being told that our mother was in multiple organ failure and had no chance of waking up, we made the decision that nobody should ever have to make. We decided to take our mother off of the BP meds. Surrounded by friends and family, our mother passed on several moments after. 

Veronica has done a great deal for South Buffalo and has done so happily, this was her home and these were her friends. Currently we are doing our best to pay for her final expenses out of our own pockets as a family, but money is running thin, and there are still debts, medical bills and final expenses to cover. Our mom never had life insurance, and with the gravity of her illness, coupled with the meager SSI/Disability payments she was receiving during her final years, it was near impossible for her to apply for it. Any dollar you donate to help would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank You and God Bless!
Sincerely, 

Ben & Marlee 
Son and Daughter of Veronica Francis (Matwijkow) 

Checks can be made out to: 

Benjamin Francis

Mailing Address: 

121 Buffum St, Buffalo, NY  14210

If you have ideas or questions about other ways to help, please drop a line to the email address included on the campaign page. 
Thank you again for your kindness