Frank passed away Feb. 27, 2004, at his home in Alberton, Mont. after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 69. A Havre, Mont. native, Frank graduated from Valier High School in 1952. He attended Western Montana College on an athletic scholarship, participating in basketball, baseball, football and track. He graduated with a B.A. in education in 1956 and was inducted into the WMC Hall of Fame in 1986.

Frank was a Missoula smokejumper from 1960 through 1962, and from 1965 through 1970. He taught in St. Ignatius for three years. The family moved to Alberton in 1959, where he taught and coached for 37 years. Frank and Betty Ann retired in 1996 and since then they had been traveling and keeping up with their grandchildren's activities.