With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Rodney Norman Frankenberger. He died on July 18, 2018 in San Diego, California at the age of 66. Rod was born on September 14, 1951 in San Diego to Byron and Tommie Lou Frankenberger. He was a native San Diegan and graduated from Kearny Mesa High School in 1970. He spent his youth playing sports, surfing, skateboarding and frog hunting. Rod will be forever loved and missed by his wife Leslie of 34 years. He is also fondly remembered by his first wife Wendy. Rod will be truly missed by his daughters Tommie Tenille (Jeff) and Brandy Lynn (Josh), his step-daughter Sara (Mike) and his siblings: Byron Jr. (Nancy), Craig Sr., Cindy Lou, Eric (Holly) and Aaron (Silvia). Rod doted on his six beautiful grandchildren who lovingly called him Papi. His absence will leave an unfillable void for anyone that knew him.
Rod had a deep love and passion for the ocean. In his 20’s, he was a professional surfer and skateboarder and a member of the Windansea Surf Club. He spent many years traveling throughout Mexico, Central and South America searching for and riding the perfect waves. With all his experience, Rod became quite an expert of the tides and weather and was a connoisseur of the green flash at sunset. Rod’s favorite local beach was Hogans where he spent countless days with family and friends. Rod was a master fisherman and enjoyed many deep-sea fishing trips with his wife and brothers. Rod had an affinity for animals and dogs in particular; he always had a four-legged best friend. Rod had a fantastic green thumb and enjoyed watching every sport known to man. He was also able to clear any dance floor with his amazing moves.
In his professional life, Rod was a general contractor and expert carpenter. He built an abundance of custom homes in California and Colorado. His knowledge and expertise were only matched by his attention to detail and his standard for perfection.
There are many ways to measure success in one’s life; for Rod, he was extremely successful at building lasting relationships in his personal and professional life that led to loyalty, respect and lifelong friendships. Rod had an amazingly sharp mind and a memory to rival any other. He could tell stories about astounding adventures and answer any question asked with a detailed response.
Optimist, minimalist, charismatic, funny, carefree, adventurer… All of these words describe Rod but yet still cannot come close to capturing his beautiful spirit. He will be deeply missed. Please join us to celebrate Rod’s life on August 25, 2108 at 12 p.m. in Liberty Station Park (near the waterway and Ace Hardware). We will gather to share our special memories of Rod and how he touched each of us personally. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Rod’s name to Rerip.org or any clean ocean organization.
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