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John Milton Frank

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John Milton Frank Veteran

Birth
Arcadia, Galveston County, Texas, USA
Death
19 Nov 2021 (aged 93)
Katy, Harris County, Texas, USA
Burial
Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA GPS-Latitude: 29.931, Longitude: -95.4474333
Plot
Section X, Site 538
Memorial ID
View Source
John Milton Frank was born on November 22, 1927, in Arcadia, Texas to William Oscar Frank and Flora Belle Meek Frank. He had one half-brother, Gene Frank of Luling, TX. His maternal grandparents, John and Irene Meek, known to him as Grandma and Grandpa, owned and ran a dairy farm in Arcadia, in Galveston County. John spent a great deal of time on the dairy farm and often shared wonderful stories of farm life. He was very close to his cousins, Charles Meek and Flora Ann Meek Markward, he referred to Flora Ann as his "sister cousin". His paternal grandparents, John Thomas & Anna Frank, known to him as Daddy Frank and Mother Frank, owned Frank Floral Garden on Avenue N 1/2 in Galveston, TX. John still has amaryllis plants from Mother Frank's garden in his yard today, he transplanted the bulbs every time he moved from one home to the next. John was a great storyteller, if you're lucky you've heard one or many over the years.

He landed his first paying job delivering Liberty Magazines at St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown Houston at the age of about 9 or 10 years old. While living near downtown Houston at about 12 years old, John's parents would often drop him and a friend off on the outskirts of town on a Friday afternoon for an entire weekend of camping in the woods returning to pick them up on Sunday afternoon. At that time, "the outskirts of town" was Voss and Memorial Drive, an area now heavy populated with many homes, businesses and loads of traffic.

John attended high school and graduated from The Allen Academy in Bryan, TX in May 1946. He was also a graduate of the Cardwell Flight Academy in May 1945. In 1946, John joined the U.S. Army and proudly served his country in the Stock Control Division, 71st Quarter Master Depot in Tokyo, Japan during the World War II occupation period, where he would rise to the rank of Tech 5 Corporal. He returned home from service in 1948.

John was married to Mary Louise Gaither from 1950 to 1962, during their marriage they had three children, Mary Nell, Kaye Lynn & John Randall (Randy). In 1964, John married Yvonne Moore, of Galveston, TX, the love of his life. He adopted her son, Douglas Ross in 1966. In 1971, John and Yvonne had their daughter, Amy Catherine. John was a true family man. He was very proud of all his family and would light up like a Christmas tree every time he had the opportunity to talk about his 5 children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren (with two more greats on the way). His parting comment after a visit either in person or by phone with one of his prized possessions was "come see me".

After the military, returning home to the Houston area, he had various jobs. At his core, John had a true entrepreneurial spirt. During his lifetime he had many businesses from upholstery as a young man working alongside his father in his garage upholstery shop on Grey Street on the outskirts of downtown Houston, to drapery installation for other companies. In the mid 50's he co-owned a custom drapery shop, Draperies by John on South Main in Houston. He started The John M. Frank Company in the mid 60's, which became a successful custom drapery business. He was very proud of the work he produced and installed, examples included: hanging all of the draperies in the skyboxes of the 8th wonder of the world, the Astrodome in the early 1960's; he made and hung draperies in the prestigious Warwick hotel in the 1960's; he did a huge installation at Texas A&M in the 70's when they did a significant addition to campus buildings and living quarters. In the late 1970's during a downturn in the economy his attempts to keep his drapery business failed. He and Yvonne then opened a small weekend shop at The Market Place antique mall in 1979 to sell the hundreds of bolts of fabric they had in inventory. After a short period of time, they slowly shifted from fabric remnants into the antique furniture & collectible business which started Amy's Antique Attic in 1979. In the early 80's they branched out to Tomball, TX to run a store 7 days a week called Tomball Antiques. John obtained his auctioneers license and they ran regular antique auctions from that Tomball location. In the early 1980's with the help of his oldest daughter, Mary Nell, he again transitioned the business from antiques and collectibles to estate and custom jewelry, Amy's Estate Jewelry, was born. If you are wondering why it was named Amy's, its because at the time John and Yvonne's youngest child, Amy, was about 9-10 years old, they figured it might be more fun for her to come to work with them, almost 7 days a week, if her name was over the door. In 1997 Amy joined the family business and worked alongside John for more than a decade until John retired in 2009. After retirement John started a volunteer job as a golf marshal, his dream job, at Bear Creek Golf Course which he enjoyed for many years until he suffered a stroke in 2015 which unfortunately ended his golf career.

Throughout his life, John enjoyed many hobbies which included model airplanes, coin collecting, painting, drawing, home improvement projects, gardening, wood working, bass fishing, deer hunting, playing golf and following his Astros, he never missed a game. John will be remembered for his contagious smile, his infectious laugh, his eternal optimism, his loyalty, his love of people and ability to make friends easily. He was a sweet man and will be missed dearly by all that knew him.

John passed away on Friday, November 19, 2021, at his daughter's home in Katy, Texas surrounded by loving family after a brief time in hospice care at the age of 93 years, just 3 days shy of his 94 birthday. He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Yvonne M. Frank of Katy; his five children, Mary Morris of Katy, TX, John & Suzi Frank of Greenwood, AR, Kaye McLaughlin of Houston, Doug Frank of Houston and Amy & Layne Ricks of Katy; his 11 grandchildren; Jennifer Morris & Corey Pointer of Fulshear, TX, Joshua & Jessie Salterberg of Arizona, Jesse & Joy Frank of Cottonwood, AZ, Sarah & Billie Newsome of Jacksonville, FL, Audra & Ahn Nguyen of Jacksonville, FL, Kevin & Jandee McLaughlin of Vassalboro, ME, Keith & Caline McLaughlin of Coupeville, WA, Jaclyn & Ricky Ornelas of Sierra Vista, AZ, Sarah Lamb of Fort Collins, CO, Lauren & Drex Boss of Glenwood, NM and Shelby Gomez & Cameron Stover of Katy, TX; and his 14 great grandchildren; Asher Salterberg, Oliver Salterberg, Megan Newsome, Amber Newsome, Aaron Nguyen, Norah Nguyen, Jack McLaughlin, Declan McLaughlin, Boone McLaughlin, Anson McLaughlin, Cheyenne Flores, Emma Ornelas, Sofia Lamb, Ayden West along with two greats on the way due in 2022.

The family will receive friends from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at the Schmidt Funeral Home Grand Parkway Chapel, in Katy, where funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday with Rev. Jim Doremus officiating. The family invites you to join them for a fellowship reception immediately following his celebration of life service at Meadowbrook Farms Golf Club, 23230 Meadowbrook Farms Golf Club, Katy, TX 77494. A private graveside service with full military honors will be held at a later date at Houston National Cemetery.

Pallbearers: Layne Ricks, Cameron Stover, Corey Pointer, Patrick Gomez
Honorary Pallbearer: Ayden West
John Milton Frank was born on November 22, 1927, in Arcadia, Texas to William Oscar Frank and Flora Belle Meek Frank. He had one half-brother, Gene Frank of Luling, TX. His maternal grandparents, John and Irene Meek, known to him as Grandma and Grandpa, owned and ran a dairy farm in Arcadia, in Galveston County. John spent a great deal of time on the dairy farm and often shared wonderful stories of farm life. He was very close to his cousins, Charles Meek and Flora Ann Meek Markward, he referred to Flora Ann as his "sister cousin". His paternal grandparents, John Thomas & Anna Frank, known to him as Daddy Frank and Mother Frank, owned Frank Floral Garden on Avenue N 1/2 in Galveston, TX. John still has amaryllis plants from Mother Frank's garden in his yard today, he transplanted the bulbs every time he moved from one home to the next. John was a great storyteller, if you're lucky you've heard one or many over the years.

He landed his first paying job delivering Liberty Magazines at St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown Houston at the age of about 9 or 10 years old. While living near downtown Houston at about 12 years old, John's parents would often drop him and a friend off on the outskirts of town on a Friday afternoon for an entire weekend of camping in the woods returning to pick them up on Sunday afternoon. At that time, "the outskirts of town" was Voss and Memorial Drive, an area now heavy populated with many homes, businesses and loads of traffic.

John attended high school and graduated from The Allen Academy in Bryan, TX in May 1946. He was also a graduate of the Cardwell Flight Academy in May 1945. In 1946, John joined the U.S. Army and proudly served his country in the Stock Control Division, 71st Quarter Master Depot in Tokyo, Japan during the World War II occupation period, where he would rise to the rank of Tech 5 Corporal. He returned home from service in 1948.

John was married to Mary Louise Gaither from 1950 to 1962, during their marriage they had three children, Mary Nell, Kaye Lynn & John Randall (Randy). In 1964, John married Yvonne Moore, of Galveston, TX, the love of his life. He adopted her son, Douglas Ross in 1966. In 1971, John and Yvonne had their daughter, Amy Catherine. John was a true family man. He was very proud of all his family and would light up like a Christmas tree every time he had the opportunity to talk about his 5 children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren (with two more greats on the way). His parting comment after a visit either in person or by phone with one of his prized possessions was "come see me".

After the military, returning home to the Houston area, he had various jobs. At his core, John had a true entrepreneurial spirt. During his lifetime he had many businesses from upholstery as a young man working alongside his father in his garage upholstery shop on Grey Street on the outskirts of downtown Houston, to drapery installation for other companies. In the mid 50's he co-owned a custom drapery shop, Draperies by John on South Main in Houston. He started The John M. Frank Company in the mid 60's, which became a successful custom drapery business. He was very proud of the work he produced and installed, examples included: hanging all of the draperies in the skyboxes of the 8th wonder of the world, the Astrodome in the early 1960's; he made and hung draperies in the prestigious Warwick hotel in the 1960's; he did a huge installation at Texas A&M in the 70's when they did a significant addition to campus buildings and living quarters. In the late 1970's during a downturn in the economy his attempts to keep his drapery business failed. He and Yvonne then opened a small weekend shop at The Market Place antique mall in 1979 to sell the hundreds of bolts of fabric they had in inventory. After a short period of time, they slowly shifted from fabric remnants into the antique furniture & collectible business which started Amy's Antique Attic in 1979. In the early 80's they branched out to Tomball, TX to run a store 7 days a week called Tomball Antiques. John obtained his auctioneers license and they ran regular antique auctions from that Tomball location. In the early 1980's with the help of his oldest daughter, Mary Nell, he again transitioned the business from antiques and collectibles to estate and custom jewelry, Amy's Estate Jewelry, was born. If you are wondering why it was named Amy's, its because at the time John and Yvonne's youngest child, Amy, was about 9-10 years old, they figured it might be more fun for her to come to work with them, almost 7 days a week, if her name was over the door. In 1997 Amy joined the family business and worked alongside John for more than a decade until John retired in 2009. After retirement John started a volunteer job as a golf marshal, his dream job, at Bear Creek Golf Course which he enjoyed for many years until he suffered a stroke in 2015 which unfortunately ended his golf career.

Throughout his life, John enjoyed many hobbies which included model airplanes, coin collecting, painting, drawing, home improvement projects, gardening, wood working, bass fishing, deer hunting, playing golf and following his Astros, he never missed a game. John will be remembered for his contagious smile, his infectious laugh, his eternal optimism, his loyalty, his love of people and ability to make friends easily. He was a sweet man and will be missed dearly by all that knew him.

John passed away on Friday, November 19, 2021, at his daughter's home in Katy, Texas surrounded by loving family after a brief time in hospice care at the age of 93 years, just 3 days shy of his 94 birthday. He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Yvonne M. Frank of Katy; his five children, Mary Morris of Katy, TX, John & Suzi Frank of Greenwood, AR, Kaye McLaughlin of Houston, Doug Frank of Houston and Amy & Layne Ricks of Katy; his 11 grandchildren; Jennifer Morris & Corey Pointer of Fulshear, TX, Joshua & Jessie Salterberg of Arizona, Jesse & Joy Frank of Cottonwood, AZ, Sarah & Billie Newsome of Jacksonville, FL, Audra & Ahn Nguyen of Jacksonville, FL, Kevin & Jandee McLaughlin of Vassalboro, ME, Keith & Caline McLaughlin of Coupeville, WA, Jaclyn & Ricky Ornelas of Sierra Vista, AZ, Sarah Lamb of Fort Collins, CO, Lauren & Drex Boss of Glenwood, NM and Shelby Gomez & Cameron Stover of Katy, TX; and his 14 great grandchildren; Asher Salterberg, Oliver Salterberg, Megan Newsome, Amber Newsome, Aaron Nguyen, Norah Nguyen, Jack McLaughlin, Declan McLaughlin, Boone McLaughlin, Anson McLaughlin, Cheyenne Flores, Emma Ornelas, Sofia Lamb, Ayden West along with two greats on the way due in 2022.

The family will receive friends from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at the Schmidt Funeral Home Grand Parkway Chapel, in Katy, where funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday with Rev. Jim Doremus officiating. The family invites you to join them for a fellowship reception immediately following his celebration of life service at Meadowbrook Farms Golf Club, 23230 Meadowbrook Farms Golf Club, Katy, TX 77494. A private graveside service with full military honors will be held at a later date at Houston National Cemetery.

Pallbearers: Layne Ricks, Cameron Stover, Corey Pointer, Patrick Gomez
Honorary Pallbearer: Ayden West


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