Kehry Frank: Bendigo mum dies in court defending son Jarrod Frank

A Bendigo yoga teacher who died defending her son in court has been remembered as a loving and nurturing mum — “one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet”.

Vitality Yoga founder and teacher Kehry Frank, 67, died after collapsing in the witness box while defending her son, Jarrod Frank, at Melbourne's County Court on Tuesday July 6. Picture: Facebook

The Bendigo yoga teacher who died defending her son in court has been remembered as a loving and nurturing mum.

Kehry Maureen Frank, 67, collapsed in the witness stand while testifying for her son, Jarrod Frank, in Victoria’s County Court last Tuesday.

Moments before her death she shared stories of her loving family — of living with her son on their Eppalock property and her grandchildren’s “adoring” love for their “uncle Jarrod”.

Midway through her testimony she told the court she “needed air” before she collapsed.

Her daughter Melanie Frank Chapman said she was a caring woman who loved everyone she met.

“Not only an incredible yoga teacher and kinesiologist but one the kindest people you’ll ever meet,” Ms Frank Chapman wrote on Facebook.

Ms Frank worked with her daughter at the studio she founded in 1993, Vitality Yoga at Paterson St, Bendigo.

Tributes to the yoga teacher described her as a calm, smiling and gorgeous “angel” who helped her students heal from life’s worst tragedies including miscarriages and family deaths.

“(Kehry) helped me through so much sadness and darkness and brought me back through to the light at the other end,” Monique Marchione wrote on Facebook.

“I will be forever grateful for the phenomenal impact she had on my life and the love and hope she made me feel in the darkness.”

“Kehry inspired me wherever she went,” Lorraine Graeme Topp wrote.

Bendigo's Vitality Yoga teachers Kehry Maureen Frank, 67, and her daughter Melanie Frank Chapman. Picture: Facebook

“She was so much more than a yoga teacher; She was an amazing life coach and friend and guided us through some difficult times.”

Her family said the mother of three and grandmother of four was a mother figure to more than just her children.

“You were a magnificent mother to us, but a mother to so many other people whose hearts are also breaking,” her children wrote on her death notice.

Her students said she made them feel like part of their family.

“She took me in and made me feel like part of the family when mine was torn apart,” Matt Caterson wrote.

“She helped me through some of my darkest times without a thought to herself,” Wayne Brown said.

Ms Frank died on Tuesday July 6 after collapsing in the witness stand.

A “code black” was yelled across the panicked courtroom before her son rushed to his mother’s side, crying: “Mum, mum, can you hear?”.

Her son, Jarrod Frank, had pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and assault in January 2020.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the 67-year-old died at the court’s Williams St address on that afternoon.

Her funeral is on Thursday July 15 at St Killian’s Church.