Tri-Cities Civic Spotlight: Margaret Rose Franz on Honouring Courage and Shaping Community: Faces Tri-Cities Co-Author Series

By: Cathy Cena & Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre Today on Faces: Tri-Cities co-authored stories, Geneviève Kyle-Lefebvre and Cathy Cena had the pleasure of sitting down with Margaret Rose Franz, retired Kwantlen Polytechnic University instructor and local mental-health advocate. Earlier this year, the Faces anthology featuring 50 women from the region launched on International Women’s Day and climbed to No. 1 on Amazon. Franz is one of its contributors, but her literary path began with a separate project that continues to shape her civic mission.

That personal project is Always Pack a Candle, Franz’s memoir about her sister Mary, a psychiatric nurse turned prison counsellor who was killed while protecting colleagues during a 1975 hostage crisis at the former B.C. Penitentiary. “Women accomplish remarkable things yet are often overlooked,” Franz told the studio audience, explaining how the silence of her college students, unable to name a single Canadian woman author, pushed her to finish the manuscript she had started in 1976. The book’s local signings have become informal town-hall sessions where residents discuss trauma, resilience, and gaps in mental-health care. Franz’s chapter in Faces distills that larger history for readers discovering the anthology. Both books serve different purposes: the anthology showcases 50 voices to inspire civic dialogue, while Always Pack a Candle spotlights one family’s story to spark action on prison safety and support for first responders.

“If my sister’s courage encourages even one person to talk about mental health, then the writing has done its job,” she said. Beyond authorship, Franz organizes panel discussions at Coquitlam Public Library, linking health professionals with families affected by psychiatric illness. She volunteers with literacy groups and plans to mentor teens who want to turn personal experience into public service. Her advice is simple: “Pick up a pen, volunteer, share your truth. Words can open doors at city hall and in a neighbour’s heart.” By separating her individual memoir from the Faces collective and highlighting both as distinct engines for civic engagement, Margaret Rose Franz reminds Tri-Cities residents that every story, whether shared alone or in chorus, has power to change community conversations. Tri-Cities Community Television is a volunteer-run media group based in the Tri-Cities region. Our mission is to support community-driven video content and independent local news stories.