Fred William Frank, 97, formerly of Brookfield, found peace on Oct. 20, 2013, at his residence in East Troy.
Fred was born Sept. 3, 1916, to Fred Jacob Frank and Anna Emily (nee Schubring) and grew up in West Allis.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Gerald Frank; and sister, Shirley Winter.
Fred is survived by his wife, Marie; his children, Rika (John) Schmelzer of Marshfield; Glen Frank of Alstead, New Hampshire; Andrea Frank (Allan McCoy) of East Troy; and Christopher (Jean Chao) of Port Townsend, Wash.
He is further survived by three wonderful grandchildren, Kate Schmelzer, Washington, D.C., and Khloe and Xavier Chao Frank, Port Townsend, Wash. Additional family, friends, neighbors and caregivers mourn his passing.
Fred served heroically as an Ensign in the Merchant Marine in World War II, and survived the sinking of his ship off the Coast of North Africa. He met and married Marie after he returned from the war.
Fred and Marie raised four children in the home they built in Brookfield, where they lived for more than 50 years before moving to a senior apartment in East Troy.
Fred was also a proud member of Brewery Worker’s Union Local No. 9 and was a stationary engineer in the Miller Brewery power plant for more than three decades.
Beyond his family, friends and neighbors, Fred loved photography, reading, fishing, camping, nature, and stargazing. In Waukesha he was a member of the Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club, a loyal supporter of the Charles Z. Horwitz Planetarium, and a Retzer Nature Center volunteer.
Fred was progressive in his political views, and cared deeply and vehemently about the environment, social justice, and making the world a better place. Indeed, the world was a better place with Fred in it, and the man we knew and loved will be deeply missed.
The family also extends their heartfelt thanks to the many wonderful caregivers at Brolen Park Assisted Living in East Troy and Vitas Hospice for everything they did to improve Fred’s quality of life and death.
Legacy Funeral Services of East Troy is serving the family, but as Fred wished, no formal funeral services will be held.
Memorials to the family would be appreciated. Those memorials will be shared by the family with charities that were meaningful to Fred.
