Selma Victoria Franz

Selma Victoria Allen Franz passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in her sleep at home on the morning of Sunday, October 12, 2025. 

Selma was welcomed into the world in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 8, 1970, by her parents, Marilyn Dolores Baneth Allen and USMC Staff Sergeant George Ross Allen at the Naval Regional Medical Hospital in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Because it was rare back in 1970 for a 40-year-old woman to give birth, both mother and daughter spent about two months under observation in the hospital’s maternity ward before Naval doctors would give the all-clear to release both to go home where Selma’s eight-year-old brother at the time, Joseph Baneth Allen, was patiently waiting to be introduced to his new sister and immediately shocked to discover that his baby sister was a green-eyed blonde. 

Selma and her brother were not typical military brats in the sense that they did not have to uproot every few years and move to a new location. Their father knew how to “game” the system of military orders, and he would “volunteer” to go on 1-year unaccompanied tours to Okinawa, which would push back any new orders he had to different locations in the world, especially since at the end of each unaccompanied tour, he would always request to return back to Camp Lejeune. This nearly full-proof system did experience a hiccup or two when her father was selected for Officer’s Candidate School and after his graduation, the family spent a year at Tallahassee, Florida at a temporary duty station, but returned back to Camp Lejeune. 

Once back at Camp Lejeune, Selma began showing an interest in mathematics long before it was “acceptable” and encouraged for girls to show an interest in now what is called STEM. Her mother taught her basic math and always ran through multiplication and division tables in the mornings and evenings, and during car rides back and forth to school. 

Much to her mother’s absolute horror, and quite pride, Selma came home from Stone Street Elementary School one day when she was in the fifth grade, looking slightly disheveled because she had beaten up a boy who was harassing her when she was walking home. Despite reassurances from her father that no boy would ever admit to being beaten up by a girl, her mother kept an eye out for the arrival of the military police who she suspected would want to take Selma away for beating up a boy so badly that he was reportedly bleeding from his nose and mouth – at least that what Selma’s friends at the time said. Dad had been right, and no outraged parents or police ever showed up, but her poor brother had his allowance taken away for a month for teaching her how to fight dirty when their Mom questioned her on how she knew what punches to throw. 

Back in 1987, when Selma was 17 years old, she hit upon a notion to get into the Guinness Book of World Records after getting her learner’s permit. Fun fact – Selma never did get her driver’s license. Looking at a map of the United States, Selma hit upon the idea of being the first family to drive around the outline of the continental United States. Now this was before the start of the Internet era of Instagram. She researched and reached out to potential sponsors, and while she received letters of encouragement and praise for her idea, sadly no corporations came forward to help sponsor the trip. 

Selma rapidly outpaced her brother (who is being candidly honest while writing this obit) in academic achievement during her time as a student at Camp Lejeune High School – where she not only was a member of the National Honor Society and the National Spanish Honor Society, but was a participant in the Olympics Of The Mind where she and her team won local and regional championships with the robot they built before losing in the state championships. Selma’s best friend at Camp Lejeune was/is Lee Woodson.

During her junior year in high school, Mom and Dad questioned her regarding a worrying aspect of her report card. While earning straight A’s in all her classes, including the Phase 6 College Level Classes, all her teachers gave her extremely low marks for participating in class. When asked about this at the dinner table, Selma said that she always raised her hand but was never called upon. Hearing this, her brother suggested that the next time it happened in a class that she stand up and say that she always tries to participate, but they never call on her and end up giving her low marks in classroom participation. Selma followed her brother’s advice, and it ended up with her being sent to the school psychiatrist for impersonating herself, while her parents were called to warn them about the young blonde green-eyed woman impersonating Selma. Somehow her poor brother got blamed for this, but once everything was resolved, she went on to earn high marks in classroom participation and Camp Lejeune High School reactively raised her classroom participation marks.  

Oh, remember that boy Selma beat up while she was in elementary school? He would later go on to develop a crush on her when they started Camp Lejeune High School, but was absolutely terrified to try asking her out. [Don’t worry, Chris, she never could remember that boy’s name – David.]. 

During her senior year in high school, Selma decided that she wanted to become an accountant and began applying to Ivy League and big-name schools while applying for all kinds of scholarships and financial aid. She was offered and accepted a three-quarter’s scholarship to Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia, back in 1988. Selma chose Mary Baldwin University because it was a private women’s college and she felt it would offer her the best opportunity to achieve her dream of becoming an accountant. 

Mary Baldwin University proved challenging to Selma in unexpected ways, not because it was her first time away from home and her beloved parents and beloved and annoying brother, but because her professors wanted her to consider a career in economics or finance, not just accounting. Selma also made new lifelong friends with Chrissy and Zan, and the friendships with them, along with Lee, continued right on up to her untimely passing. 

The end of her sophomore year at Mary Baldwin University almost brought an end to her academic dreams. Selma had been getting sick with repeated fevers and chills that all the doctors wrote off as just repeated colds and flu. With the support of her family and friends, Selma refused just to accept the oft-repeated diagnosis of “it’s just the flu” and got a full and complete medical physical done, with lab work. 

“It’s just the flu” turned out to be cancer - Nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma. Exploratory surgery, the only way to stage this particular type of cancer at the time, determined that she was in Phase 2-A of the disease, which meant it could be treated with just radiation therapy. So with the love and support of her parents and brother, Selma applied for and received a leave of absence from Mary Baldwin University, and began taking classes at Campbell University as a full-time student on base in order to maintain her Tri-care Medical Insurance Coverage while dealing the side effects of daily radiation therapy – which included hair and weight loss. 

It was during this time that Selma was finally able to con, I mean convince, Mom to allow her to get a puppy, and we added Duchess Midnight Pearl – a full-blooded English Cocker Spaniel; and a year later, Heidi Wells, a rescue tri-color Persian mix. Selma’s cancer treatment ended in 1991, and she was declared in remission. So the five-year countdown began. It should be noted that Selma came under pressure from an unlikely source – civilian doctors. When her father retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1992, Selma followed her parents and brother down to Jacksonville, Florida, for a new beginning. Yet her biggest challenge was not finishing up her required coursework at the University of North Florida for her Bachelor of Business Administration, for which Campbell University would award her a degree in. It was in sparring with civilian doctors who were disgusted with her refusal to give up on her education and go on welfare as they were demanding her to do.

After being awarded her undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Selma eventually landed a payroll account position at Allied-Signal at USMC Base Blount Island at Jacksonville, Florida. It was at Allied-Signal when she first spoke with Christopher Franz over the telephone. Christopher and Selma hit it off, and soon they would be talking on their personal cell phones after work hours for hours at a time. Their phone conversations led to an eventual meeting and dating, and an engagement whereafter Chris proposed to Selma and they eloped with the blessing of Selma’s parents and brother. 

Selma and Chris lived in New Orleans and San Diego until Chris was assigned by his company to their Charleston, South Carolina location where the two eventually bought a home. Selma continued working for a while at Capstone as a government contractor before leaving and eventually becoming a power-seller on eBay before an unexpected side-effect of her radiation therapy threw a monkey wrench into her life. 

Selma had reached the 5-year-mark long ago and had been declared cancer-free, but the radiation therapy which saved her life, caused a new medical problem - Lymphedema. Selma was experiencing massive weight gains which doctors again wrote off saying that she was just eating too much. It was only when one doctor studied her complete medical history and determined that she needed compression therapy – wrapping her legs, arms, and torso in compression bandages to drain the excess fluid out of her body. 

Yet a massive wound developed on Selma’s leg, and she developed gangrene. Emergency surgery on the wound saved her life, and while it left her bedridden for the remaining 20-plus years of her life, Selma fought every day to recover and walk again, with repeated progress, setbacks, and continued progress. And during this time, Chris, her beloved Gooftopher, and her parents and brother were at her side, cheering every step and refusing to give into any setback. 

Though bedridden and unable to walk, Selma continued to help care for her parents. She also helped her brother edit his non-fiction articles before he sent them off to his editors and served as a sounding board for his fiction stories. And when he got laid off from a recent position, it was Selma who suggested the company he should apply for, and within a week, he got hired.

Perhaps Selma’s greatest heartbreak was in November 26, 2013, when her beloved parents passed away within four days of each other. Yet her sorrow turned to unexpected joy when her brother unexpectedly adopted two wayward minions – Jeff and Zack – and gave both her and Chris the nephews that they always wanted her brother Joseph to have.

With repeated hospitalizations, Selma’s last few years were not easy ones. Less than two months ago, she was given less than six months to live; but Selma, with her usual determination, refused to accept the finality of a ticking clock. She worked towards recovery when she was released back home. She had beaten long odds before; what was one more hurdle to overcome?

Sadly, Selma was able to clear that last final hurdle. She passed away peacefully on the morning of Sunday, October 12, leaving her beloved Gooftopher and husband, Christoper Franz, and her still annoying, but beloved brother, Joseph Baneth Allen behind to miss her every day of their lives.

Arrangements have been entrusted to McAlister-Smith Funeral and Cremation, 2501 Bees Ferry Road, Charleston, SC 29414, (843) 722-8371.