Frank was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 4, 1931. He grew up in a family of 10 children, 7 brothers and 2 sisters (Tony, Ed, Joe, John, Frank, Stanley, Stash, Steve, Helen and Janie). He was married on October 31, 1953 to his beautiful bride of 51 years, Joan Frances Udzinski, who passed in 2004. They met at his friend Eddie Bazil's wedding. Joan went to the wedding because her father knew the family and was asked to go. Frank asked her for a dance and that was it, they were together ever since.
In 1961, they moved from East Brooklyn, NY to Hillsborough, New Jersey where they lived for 41 years before retiring to Hobe Sound, Florida in 2002.
In 1950, at 19 years old, Frank enlisted for two terms in the Navy Air Force Reserves “Weekend Warriors” during the Korean war. As a “Weekend Warrrior” in the Fasron 832 Squadron unit, he maintained the Navy bomber planes at Floyd Bennett Field, New York. He was responsible for over hauling Navy bomber plane engines (PBY’s - patrol bomber coastal planes that searched for subs off the Long Island coast and P2v Neptunes – “whistling death” that went from one base to another). He maintained, disassembled, examined and repaired the plane engines while they were running at 2800 rpm’s. The brakes of the plane only worked when a man was inside pushing down on the peddle; therefore, he had to “chock up” the planes by placing wooden blocks under the wheels so they wouldn’t move while working on the running engines.
He worked as a night pressman for the New York Daily News and NY Times during the week and Navy Air Force reserves on the weekends. In between (and as side jobs for most his life) he worked as a neighborhood car mechanic, commercial and residential sheet rock taper/spackler and later (after moving to NJ) also as a “filler” night pressman for The Star Ledger (NJ newspaper). He worked for the NY Daily News for a total of 52 years, and after moving to NJ, commuted back and forth to work for 41 years. He loved fishing, wood working, fixing things around the house and keeping up the pool for his grandchildren to swim in.
Frank was the sole supporter of a family of six and one brother-in-law, Stanley “Butch” Udzinski. Loving father of four children, the late Denise Ann (Butts 2004), Thomas Edward Goitz and wife Kathie Wildrick, Frances Amelia (Keselica) ) and husband M. Craig Keselica, and the late Kathleen Johanna (Cole 2010) and husband E. Paul Cole. Devoted and very proud grandfather of six grandchildren, Dale Shawn Butts, Jessica Goitz, Matthew Everett Cole (degree in Nuclear Engineering from University of Florida and working at Pearl Harbor/Hawaii on nuclear submarines), Adam William Cole (studying Geomatics Engineering at Florida Atlantic University), Christine Adele Keselica (degrees in Biology and Psychology from Virginia Tech and working at Zeus Scientific, Inc.) and Sean Michael Keselica (degree in Human Development from Virginia Tech and drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015). He is also survived by sisters Helen Guglielmo of Newark, CA and Janie Lucchese of Lynbrook, NY.
While retired in Hobe Sound, Frank volunteered his time to Saint Vincent De Paul Society’s Thrift shop (St. Christopher Church) for donation truck pickups “rain or shine”. He was also a lifetime member in the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
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