He was born March 31, 1927, to Hulon Thomas Kennon and Laura Delcie (Curry) Kennon in Shawnee.
He married Leslie Ruth Oliver Aug. 18, 1953, in Chandler. They were married 58 years and were blessed with four children, Tawana Murphy, Terre Haute, Ind., Valerie Kennon, Norman, Sharlyn Kennon, Shawnee, and Doug Kennon and his wife Angela Davis Kennon, Washington, Okla.; three grandchildren, Tim Murphy and wife Amy, Terre Haute, Laura Murphy, Los Angeles, Ryan Davis and Kendall Ella Kennon, Washington; two great-grandchildren, Erin and Sean Murphy, Terre Haute; one brother, Robert Hulon Kennon; nephews, Phil and Cindy Kennon, Shane, Hayley and Everett Kennon, of Oklahoma City, Capt. Samuel Kennon, Japan; niece, Kathy Kennon, Oklahoma City; two godsons, Jason Havens, Springfield, Mo., and Jon Havens, Tahlequah; and several relatives and a host of former athletes and friends.
Frank was baptized at Calvary Baptist Church in 1938 and was a long time member there as well as the First Baptist Church in Shawnee.During WW, II Frank served two years in the U.S. Navy as a gunners mate aboard the U.S.S. Magoffin in the South Pacific.
He returned to Shawnee and graduated from Shawnee High School in the fall of 1948. Frank then attended East Central State College on a football scholarship where he played nose guard and offensive end for the East Central Tigers. At 140 pounds, he was the smallest lineman to ever play in the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference.
After graduating from college in three years with a BS in Education and minor in Social Science, he accepted his first coaching and teaching position in 1951 at Tuttle. He coached for 31 years in Oklahoma at Tuttle, Wellston, Oilton, Blackwell, Woodward, Shawnee, Drumright and Ada, and at Gallup, N.M. and Carrollton, Texas.
During his tenure, he also served as an athletic director and coached girls’ and boys’ basketball, track and baseball. In 1971, Frank graduated magna cum laude with a master’s degree in Administration from Central State University, Edmond. From 1971-1976, Frank was in the home building business, and after retiring from coaching, he served as the Director for Carter Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Shawnee for seven years.
Frank coached 20 all state players, 84 college scholar athletes and was most proud of the 23 former players who chose coaching as their career. One of his most rewarding coaching moments was in 1964 when he returned to his hometown of Shawnee and inherited one of the state’s longest losing programs. They had not won a conference championship in 22 years and were 3-27 in the previous three years. In 1970, the Letterman’s Magazine rated Shawnee as one of the top 10 high school football teams in the nation. They led all Oklahoma teams in total defense and were ranked as one of Oklahoma’s all time best defensive teams. One of his greatest personal honors was the plaque presented to him by his former Shawnee players and fans that stated, “To the man who brought football back to Shawnee.” Although he inherited many losing football programs throughout his career, he was fortunate to leave each of those schools with a winning record.
Frank had many honors, including induction into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame, National High School Coaches Hall of Fame, East Central University Hall of Fame, Shawnee High School Football Hall of Fame and Shawnee Education Foundation Hall of Fame. He was a charter member of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association, President of the Oklahoma Coaches Association, head coach of the 1965 Oklahoma All State and 1966 Oklahoma Oil Bowl teams and coordinator for the Oklahoma All State games. He was honored numerous times as the Oklahoma High School Football Coach of the Week.
Frank was preceded in death by his parents.
Funeral Services will be 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, at First Baptist Church, Shawnee. A veteran’s burial will follow at Resthaven Cemetery.
There will be a viewing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, at Resthaven Memorial Park. The Kennon Family will be there to greet former athletes, friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to The Frank Kennon Memorial Fund, Bison Federal Credit Union, 2 West MacArthur, Shawnee, OK 74804.Arrangements under the direction of Resthaven Funeral Home, Shawnee, OK.
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