Michael John Frankiewicz

Michael John Frankiewicz 

1944 – 2024

Michael John Frankiewicz passed away peacefully at home on September 2, 2024, just seventeen days after celebrating his 80th birthday. He was born on August 16, 1944 to another Michael, Michael Julian, and his mother Anne (Babiarz), in Chicago, IL. The second of five children, he grew up fishing for walleye, playing the clarinet, spending summers at the family farm in Wisconsin, and caddying for wealthy golfers after school, often hitchhiking “uphill both ways” carrying his own clubs on the off-chance he’d also get to play. It was while attending West Leyden High School that he met Bernadette Dembowski, a bakery department assistant at the local Burny Brothers with whom he’d flirt by untying her apron strings.  From 1963 to 1967 he served in the U.S. Air Force working on B52 Stratofortresses and shortly after, in 1968, he and Bernie were married, but not before one last hurrah involving $52 worth of pennies and a night in New York City with his Air Force buddies. That was the kind of man he was—serious about his duties, but always up for an adventure. 

Together they proudly raised three 100% Polish children, teaching them how to polka, devour kielbasa and pierogi, and support each other. They moved to Tucson, AZ after his father’s death to help care for his mom. He was humble and worked hard at retail for many years, moving from his Produce Manager past to an electronics career as retail Manager at multiple Radio Shacks in Tucson. Each Christmas, he and Bernie would bake cheesecakes for his staff, because even in the grind of retail, Michael believed in showing gratitude. Despite the long days on his feet, like any good handyman, Michael wasn’t one to sit still. He made his house a home with a covered patio, porch swings, a chicken coop, fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. 

He was a true Cubs fan and delighted in wearing silly T-shirts from his kids that would make anyone who read them laugh. He never took himself too seriously, but he did take his gardening seriously. If you ever visited, he’d take you out back and show off his garden with a quiet pride that only someone who digs in the dirt could have. He loved traveling the world with his wife and eldest daughter, living vicariously through her escapades; he lit up with tales from his youngest – whether they be in earnest, in jest, or about the White House; and he was uniquely proud of his son, who built a successful business, “Frankiewicz, LLC,” with the same kind of hard work and determination that defined his own life. A member of St. Odilia Catholic Church since 1979, Michael served on the Facility Management Advisory Board as well as many Fiesta committees and was generally supportive of numerous other parish activities. 

It was the small things he enjoyed the most, knowing his children and grandchildren shared his love of music, watching his favorite cardinal stop by for a visit, or whispering secrets to his chickens during the sunset hours. Canasta was his game, until the day he thought he might actually lose!  He’d listen to “Alice’s Restaurant” or Johnny Cash like they were old friends, and every Christmas you’d find him stringing lights on the tree or setting up the train while Buck Owen’s Christmas album played on repeat. As the years wore on his joys stayed mostly the same, his days filled with conversations and his nights occupied with his favorite news programs or a Hallmark movie. He was the kind of dad and grandpa that lit up when he was with us and we knew he was content if he wrapped an arm around us at the end of the day. His mischievous grin and the glimmer in his eyes were always clues that that moment was somethin’ special. He loved the stories of Garrison Keillor and would often sign off from the land of Lake Wobegon, “where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” 

Michael Frankiewicz worked hard, loved harder, and may have taken Labor Day a bit too literally. From now on, his family will think of him getting the rest he deserves at that great fishing hole in the sky where the walleye are always biting, the polkas are always playing, and the coffee is always hot. He is predeceased by his parents and older brother Robert, but is survived by his fellow jokester and brother John, his sisters Mary Anne (Jeffrey Schullo) and Lynn (Gary Fuell), his wife, Bernadette (Dembowski), children, Cheryl (Kenneth Neufeld), Brian (Tehjan (Duran)) and Monica (Ryan Eddy). Michael is also survived by his grandchildren Siobhan (Frankiewicz), Kate (Eddy), and John (Eddy). 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Casa Alitas (https://www.casaalitas.org/) or investing in an entrepreneur via www.kiva.org or any other peer lending platform.