A Message from Frances Masket’s Family

This campaign supports Art Trek, Inc., a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to bringing meaningful, inclusive, and confidence-building art experiences into classrooms and communities across Southern California. Since 1992, Art Trek has reached over 50,000 children, teens, adults, and seniors annually, fostering creativity, connection, and healing through the arts.

We are proud to support this mission in loving memory of Fran Masket, a lifelong artist, writer, and fierce advocate for self-expression. Born in Michigan City, Indiana, in 1933, Fran spent her life surrounded by creativity. She quilted, sewed, painted, drew, acted, and wrote thousands of stories, many of which were published in local magazines. Her passion for the arts wasn’t just a pastime, it was a way of living — one she passed down to her children and grandchildren with care and intention. She was deeply involved in the community and even took on the role of extracurricular drama teacher at her grandkids’ elementary school, where she wrote and directed a play.

Until her final days (age 92), Fran was typing a novel, hoping to become one of the oldest published authors, inspired by her idol Harper Lee, who famously wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. This determination to keep creating and telling stories was a testament to her enduring spirit.

Fran believed deeply in the power of the arts to unite people, to express truth, and to inspire joy. We know she would want nothing more than future generations to experience that same passion. Supporting Art Trek is a meaningful way to honor her legacy and to give back to the artists, dreamers, and makers of tomorrow—just as Fran would have wished.

Please consider making a donation to Art Trek, Inc. in her memory, and help keep her love of the arts alive.