More detail on this person: Charles Chester Frank Charles Chester Frank, 82, of Stillwater, Okla., died March 16, 2012 in his home. He was born Nov. 7, 1929 in Oklahoma City; he was the third son of John S. Frank and Grace Catherine Waite. He was from a family that came with the forced removal of the Chickasaw from Mississippi to Oklahoma. He attended Central High School in Oklahoma City. He married Donna Ione Page of Douglas, Okla., in 1951. They were college sweethearts. They spent the next 25 years as an Army family, moving to eight different postings from the west coast to the east coast. He served two tours in Vietnam and was awarded The Bronze Star - for "heroic or meritorious achievement or service." After completing his military service as an Army Aviator in Accident Safety achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Charles earned his Bachelor's Degree in Business Education from Oklahoma A&M College - now OSU - and he began civilian life. He was highly regarded as a local home builder. He was a remarkable husband, father and friend. A gifted "gentleman", Charles was active at Total Fitness for years and spoke highly of the friends there, often going to breakfast with them after workouts in the early mornings several days a week. He loved home building and enjoyed being a contractor; he enjoyed choosing the perfect house plan and seeing it come together. He loved to show his houses to friends and family while they were underway. He was a powerful worker of amazing endurance, especially for his age, and enjoyed doing many of the big jobs himself, including putting in concrete pylons, digging a ditch with his tractor (or the old-fashioned way!) , and mowing acres of land. In his leisure time, he enjoyed the Oklahoma symphonic season, listening to music, trying out new gluten-free breads and treats, and watching Bugs Bunny, old British sitcoms, and the movie WALL-E. He was quick to laugh and enjoyed people. At the same time, he was good at staying on-task and getting things done. At the time of his death, he had several projects underway including sidewalks around his house and the first new home in the Arbor Village addition at Western and 19th in Stillwater. He made a lasting impression on all who knew him and was known to a surprising number of people in the community. One of his greatest joys was family - he loved Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers, or picking up pecans in the yard with his children and grandchildren, or an impromptu visit at his home. One of his greatest loves was his wife, Donna, whom he cared for at home for a few years and then visited for breakfast daily at Grace Living Center until her death. His grandsons remember being around their Granddad as inspiring, because he was energetic and motivated, but could always make time to have a spontaneous chat with them. We always parted from seeing Charles with a hug. Charles and Donna were very fond of their yorkie named Torey, who they adopted when her owner died, so when she died they got another yorkie named Itsy, who survives. She was a great companion for him and rode in his truck on errands and often went along when he visited Donna, and Itsy was by his side until the end of his life. He was preceded in death by his wife, Donna; brother, Richard Frank of Oklahoma City; and his parents. He is survived by his brother, Harold Frank (Estelle); daughter, Dana Frank (husband David Bryan); son, James Frank (wife Linda Frank); and niece Pam (Paul) Forsythe. Also surviving are grandsons, Evan Frank and Arlen Frank, as well as other relatives and many friends and neighbors. A come-and-go memorial celebration is planned for Sunday, March 25th from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Stillwater Public Library in Stillwater, OK. Donations may be made to Stillwater Habitat for Humanity at http://www.stillwaterhabitat.org and Yorkie Rescue at http://www.okyorkierescue.org. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family privately or by signing the online Guest Book. Please share any memories you have - we would love to hear Charles' stories! The Guest Book and an online obituary may be viewed by visiting www.strodefh.com.
This information was last updated 11/08/2017
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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