LYNN — She may be gone, but Francesca “Franki” Galeazzi’s legacy will live on forever. Her family and friends are making sure of it.
On March 8, 2022, Franki chose to end her journey in life after a battle with mental health challenges. The Lynn native and Lynn Classical High School alumna was the epitome of a student-athlete, always excelling at whatever she put her mind to. She was one of the greatest sports players the city has ever seen.
“In the 25 years she was here, she certainly impacted so many people and touched so many lives,” said her mom, Sheila Belliveau.
Franki was President of her National Honor Society, Northeast Conference (NEC), and Agganis All-Star in soccer, basketball, and softball. In college, she was named CCC Rookie of the Year and CCC League MVP at Salve Regina University.
Her passion in life was to serve others. She did social work internships that led her to Sojourn’s Collegiate Ministry, where she completed mission work with adolescent girls and human trafficking. She worked with La Casa del Jardin, a safe house for survivors of sex trafficking in Tijuana, Rosarito, Mexico. She found a love for children through nannying while studying social work. She also went to Kenya with Missions of Hope, a Christian-based organization for social work that helps to educate young boys and girls.
Franki even became a school adjustment counselor at a charter school in Fall River, helping kids who deal with certain learning challenges. To this day, she is described as a fierce, free-spirited, strong-willed woman who was a loyal sister and friend. She was adored by anyone who came in contact with her.
“I am almost embarrassed that I didn’t know that my daughter was special to so many people,” Dave Galeazzi, her father, said. “The lives she touched, all the people who came to her wake, I’ll never forget it. There was this one woman who came with her daughter to Franki’s wake, she barely made it there from Fall River. The young girl couldn’t communicate well, but she had handmade cards. This mother and daughter traveled an hour and a half to come up for five minutes to honor my daughter.”
Knowing all this about Franki, it’s no wonder the tributes to her continue to grow. At her former high school, there is now an athletic hallway that leads to a tribute to her. It holds a beautiful display that acknowledges all of her accomplishments and community contributions. At Breed Field, where she dominated as a kid athlete, there is a bench bearing her name. It’s a spot that Franki’s family, especially her mom, visits often.
“It’s a way to remember all the great times at the field down there,” Belliveau said. “The sports and camaraderie and friends she built in Lynn are so important.”
There are also two Lynn scholarships for local student-athletes that are given out each year in honor of Franki. One is directly through her family and is possible thanks to the $30,000 that was raised in a GoFundMe created after Franki’s death.
That scholarship is for student-athletes from Lynn Classical, and it offers up to $1,500 to the recipient. It started in 2023, and her family plans to keep it going for as long as they can. They also use some of the GoFundMe donations to donate to various charitable funds and organizations that meant a lot to Franki.
The second scholarship is through the Lynn Parks Softball Association, and it’s open to student-athletes who play softball at either Lynn Tech, Lynn Classical, or Lynn English. It asks applicants to write a short essay about a time when they overcame or faced a challenge in their life.
“As someone who played two sports with her, even though she was a year younger than me, I always looked up to her, ” said Bobbie Dee Regan, a longtime friend of Franki’s. “I always tried my hardest to be at her level. She was an insane athlete and an incredible human being and someone everyone looked up to as a role model.”
Regan is one of the driving forces behind the annual Lynn Parks Women’s Slowpitch Softball Tournament that happens in honor of Franki. She said it started right after her death, and it is going into its third year. There is also a youth clinic portion to the June tournament where kids can come and learn the game. In my opinion, this tournament and youth clinic is the perfect way to honor a woman who loved the sport and loved teaching kids so much.
“What is a better way to honor her than to continue the legacy of softball,” Regan said. “It’s so awesome because all of these people and parents I haven’t seen in years come out to watch everyone play. It’s just good to see everyone healthy and hanging around.”
Growing up, Franki always wore the number eight, no matter which team she was on. That is why the tournament teams wear shirts bearing the same number. It’s just another small way they keep her legacy going.
All the money raised during the tournament goes toward the LPSA scholarship that honors Franki. They’re always looking for teams to join the tournament or even just people to offer up gift baskets that they can raffle off.
“Not only are we raising money in honor of Frankie, we are helping our local little leagues get money too,” Regan added.
Franki’s family and friends all said they also continue carrying on her legacy by advocating for mental health awareness. Her father says he plans to immerse himself in learning anything and everything he can about it.
“The mental health in our society right now is so important to me, and I know it is for Franki, too.” her mother added. “This tragedy should never have happened.”
“When I meditate, I feel connected to her. I feel all her positive energy,” Belliveau continued. “Everything to me is about balance now. The baby steps of our own self-care. I can’t express enough how important that is.”
There’s also one more way Franki’s legacy will live on. It will be through her parents, her friends, her siblings Briana, Gabbi, and Nico, and now through her newborn niece, Charlotte Francesca “Charlie Franki.”
“My one biggest fear is people forgetting about her,” her dad said. “That would be devastating.”
Safe to say, the City of Lynn and everyone who knew Franki will do all we can to ensure she lives on forever. Her soul was too pure not to.
