Frank M Phelan

Frank M. Phelan 1939 - 2015 Patriot, poet, hobby historian, story teller, outdoors man, philosopher beloved father to his two daughters and a great friend to all who met him, Frank Michael Phelan passed away peacefully at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma, WA on February 19, 2015. He was predeceased by his wife, Carol Eliot Phelan. He was born in Bloomington, IN on Aug 4, 1939 to Lorena (Ramsey) and William Phelan. He grew up in North Merrick, NY and was a proud volunteer EMT and firefighter with the North Merrick Fire Department, while working at Histacount in Melville, NY. He moved his family to Colorado Springs, CO in 1976 and had a lifetime love affair with the west. He spent every moment he could exploring every corner of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Wyoming while writing stories and poems inspired by the beauty around him. Moving to Federal Way, WA in 1987 gave him a new region of the country to explore and he took advantage of every moment of free time to visit national parks in Washington, Montana and Idaho. He worked his entire life in the printing industry and retired in from Quebecor (Fife, WA) in 2002. He was a proud union man. He was honored to be the shop steward representing his coworkers and served on the executive board of the local union. He is survived by his daughters Kym Phelan Meyer, her husband Eric and their children Kathleen Lorena and Erin Theresa of Auburn, MA , Teri Phelan Robinson and her husband Bill of Bath, ME and his constant companion and best friend, Jean Melsh of Tacoma, WA. Days, nights, change; Things are rearranged. Never destroyed, They are as colors Of the chameleon. From birth to birth, We never die, But live to live again. As clouds sail And tumble And fall to the earth, Then rise to greet The morning sun Shining on a mirror sea, So then shall we. -Frank M. Phelan Written July 1963