John Frederick Frank

JOHN FREDERICK FRANK, III John Frederick Frank, III was born on Phillipsburg, PA on February 1, 1923 to Grace and John Frank. John's grandparents came from Stockholm Sweden where they had a bakery business. John was the fourth in line of five children; sisters Margaret Louise Frank Mark, Marian Althea Frank, Ethel May Frank and brother Clair Vaughn Frank. All but Clair preceded John in death. John enlisted in the United States Air Force at the outbreak of WWII. He was at Pueblo Air Base when he met Eloise Dabney at a skating party. Eloise was attending nursing school at Seton School of Nursing and John was receiving overseas training in a B24 Liberator as a navigator and bombardier. Eloise and John became engaged on November 22, 1944 and then married on December 31st, 1944. John left for overseas duty on January 6, 1945 where he flew over 600 hours of combat missions out of Chentu, China. On April 2, 1945, while bombing Japanese over Kiefon, China, John's aircraft was hit by flack and the craft lost 2 engines. The crew parachuted out and the aircraft crashed inside China 50 miles from enemy lines. Two of the crew were killed and 3 others had broken legs. John was the only crew member who was uninjured and assisted the Chinese Underground in returning the surviving crew members to US Forces. After the war, John and Eloise made their home in Denver. John worked as a sweeper boy for the Denver Public Schools while continuing his education. In 1950, he received his Masters Degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education from the University of Denver. His diploma was presented to him by General Dwight Eisenhower. He began his teaching career at Baker Middle School, then North High School and ultimately went to South High School where he remained until his retirement in 1981. John and Eloise had 3 daughters; Jeanie Eloise Frank Dedmon born in 1949, Jackie Susan Frank Beaver born in 1953 and Judy Ann Frank Batson born in 1956. John was very active in his daughters' lives taking them to orthodontist appointments, piano lessons, swim team practice and other events. He attended every swim meet that they competed in, many times acting as a timer or judge for the meet. As a special Christmas present one year, the girls got him a timer that would allow him to time them during their races to determine their "splits". He was seen many times running up and down the pool cheering for one of his daughters while they swam. John and Eloise were married for 67 years. In 1994, they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at the Wellshire Country Club in Denver with over 100 friends and family. John and Eloise were also blessed with two grandchildren, Keil Aaron Beaver born on August 5, 1981 and Kelli Renee Beaver born on May 8, 1985. He was very close to both grandchildren attending as many of their sporting and dance events as possible. In 1994, John and Eloise flew to Las Vegas to watch Keil pitch in the Regional Little League Championship. He watched Keil play high school football, basketball and baseball, again traveling to games outside of the Denver area. Even though he was not accustomed to non-competitive events, he began watching Kelli dance when she was only 3-years-old. He sat through many hours of dance recitals where his little granddaughter would only participate in a 2 minute piece, but enjoyed it immensely. When Kelli broke her arm, her grandpa was the one who took care of her the next day as her mom and dad had to work. One of the last social events that John and Eloise were able to attend together was Keil and Nicole's wedding on August 12, 2007. Even though both were struggling physically, John insisted on going to the ceremony and reception. Even though John was in tremendous pain at that point, he was proud to be part of the family gathering. A few months later, John's beloved wife, Eloise, would be taken to the hospital and never return to their home. Eloise was ultimately taken to Heritage Club Assisted Living in early 2008. Regardless of the weather, or his ongoing health issues, John faithfully visited Eloise everyday for 2 years ignoring his daughters' concern for his safety. He made the 3 mile trip everyday until his own health required him to also move to Heritage. Eloise was in a special unit for victims of Alzheimer's Disease, and John continued to visit her, finally resorting to a wheelchair for the journey down the hall. It was only in recent months that John could no longer venture to Eloise's room to comfort her. At that point, we all knew that the end was near. Even on his last day, he continued to ask the family about Eloise and to make sure that she was taken care of. John remained a faithful husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and will be greatly missed by all of us.