Frank C. Valentine

Frank was born August 3, 1942, in Boston, MA and raised in Boise, ID. A graduate of Boise Junior College (now BSU), University of Idaho (BS), and University of California Santa Barbara (MS), Frank served as an electrical engineer for the Department of the Navy in Pt Mugu, CA, Martin Marietta in Littleton, CO, and in the DC metro area with Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, and ATS Solutions (serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan as a civilian contractor). We can’t tell you what he worked on because we’ll never know, but Frank was a patriot. His work was in service to his country and advanced science and engineering.

Frank (also answering to call letters WD6FIX), was an avid HAM radio operator, receiving his license at 29. He was typically introverted, but most mornings and evenings his HAM radio buzzed with many conversations from distant lands.

Frank likely saw most baseball games played in his lifetime. He enjoyed playing volleyball and tennis. He was an accomplished skier. He once climbed Mount Whitney. Early in their lives, he would take his children for weekly hikes and occasional camping trips in the Colorado mountains and teach them the wonder and glory of God, as evidenced by the majesty of His creation. That lesson pervades in their lives to this day.

Frank loved to sing. As a crisp tenor, he sang harmonies in barbershop quartets, church choirs, the Messiah Chorus, in the shower, and to his young children to help them fall asleep. The only song he could play on a piano was the Maple Leaf Rag, but he did it with zeal and perfection. He played the banjo early in his adult life. Bluegrass and old gospel music harmonized and soothed his soul.

Frank was infinitely curious about the world. He gazed at satellites and understood how the stars moved in space, was fascinated by weather, and documented data in his world until he identified patterns. He was an early adopter of all technology, tinkered with everything until he understood it (he once tried to build an airplane in his garage), collected everything that would eventually provide answers, and sank himself into topics until he was able to explain them fully. He valued precision, accuracy, science, math, and data, but also a good puzzle to solve.

The greatest mystery of life that Frank could not solve was God’s infinite grace, compassion, mercy, and love for him (though he pursued those answers his whole life).

Frank was preceded in death by his father, Bernard Iliff Valentine, mother, Margaret Wyatt (Fry) Erickson, stepfather, Linne Erickson, and son-in-law, Howard J Cook, III.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 46 years, Kathleen (Kathy); 3 adult children: Andrea Lynn & Philip James of Fredericksburg, and Shelley Rae Valentine Cook of Denver, CO; sister, Laurette Valentine of Goleta, CA; brother, Bernard Valentine of Star, ID; and stepbrother, Robert Erickson of Poneloya, Nicaragua.

A memorial service will be held at Fredericksburg Baptist Church on July 14, 2019 at 3pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or Rappahannock Adult Activities Inc.