Deceased January 18, 2020
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In Memory
Frank met his wife, Julia, when the two biologists were in their 20s and working in the summer at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Julia told me that Frank courted her by bringing snacks to her while she was working on a nocturnal lab project. These meetings became a commitment not only to a 59-year marriage but also to their return every summer to Woods Hole, frequently at the MBL, and then to retirement in the town. When I spoke with Frank last year, he was still doing research at the MBL on cilia, working on a textbook and reading Roman history.
Frank prepared for Amherst at Teaneck (N.J.) High School. He majored in biology; joined the Lord Jeff Club, choir and glee club; was active in WAMF, Philosophy Club, Pre-Academic Club and Debating Council; and, with the Masquers, performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
After his Amherst graduation, magna cum laude, Frank earned his doctorate in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and went on to a long career teaching at the University of Chicago and at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., while also often doing research at Woods Hole.
Frank loved to sail from the local yacht club and to act with the local theater company. He served as president of both Great Meadows Trust in Connecticut for wetland conservation and of Samaritans of Cape Cod for suicide prevention.
His obituary cites Frank and Julia’s extensive travel and notes, “Their accomplished bridge playing reflected their ardent partnership in life.”
Frank died on Jan. 18, leaving Julia and their three children, Malcolm, Alice and Rachel, and five grandchildren.
George Edmonds ’53