Mary Frank

Mary (Barrington) Frank – January 26, 1924 – July 26, 2021 Mary Frank passed away last week after a brief illness. She had been a resident in assisted living facilities in Lynnwood and Edmonds, Washington, since 2018. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Mary was the youngest of Roy Barrington and Kathleen Dolan’s three children. Her brother Bill was six years older and her sister Lulu Jane four. They attended Raymer Elementary School near their home on Hurd Street. They always walked to school unless the temperature fell below zero. On those mornings, her mother would check the cooler on the porch where the milkman left their order. When it froze, the milk would push up the cardboard plug. If it got near two inches above the top, her mom would declare, “No school today!” No waiting for the radio to put out a bulletin. The Barrington clan hailed from Saint Marys, Ohio, one hundred miles southwest of Toledo. Visits were rare in the 1920’s and 30’s. Mary looked forward to them, especially when she got to see her father’s three nephews, the Lawrence brothers. Though they were closer to Bill’s age, Mary’s tomboy nature appealed to their sense of fun. In 1938 Mary enrolled at Waite High School, a mile beyond Raymer. In the summer of 1941, she travelled with her Aunt Lulu and Uncle Don Lawrence to California where she visited her father’s brother, Kyte Barrington, recently back from China. The trip remained a memorable event and she spoke of it often. At her mother’s direction, she aimed at a clerical career. Electric Autolite hired her after she graduated from high school in 1942. She started in the fledgling data processing field, learning to operate IBM sorting and tabulating machines. She met her future husband there, though she didn’t know it at the time—a blond fellow named Tom Frank. After he left for the service, Mary was one of several young ladies who corresponded with him while he was overseas. When he came back, he proposed, and Mary accepted. They were married in October 1946. Mary stayed at Electric Autolite through 1947, while Tom adjusted to civilian life and eventually went to work as a mechanic and bookkeeper in his father’s garage. In 1948 her first son Tom was born, followed by a another, Terry, in 1952. In between, Mary suffered a stillbirth; she always remembered the curly-headed son they lost. Mary’s husband Tom dreamed of working for an airline. He turned down a job in Toledo, hoping to go farther away. They decided to try California. Mary took a practical approach, organizing the family finances and planning the trip. To make the journey an adventure for their boys and to save on expenses, they purchased a small trailer, hitched it to their car and set out for Highway 66 the summer of 1960. Tom’s sister worked in Los Angeles as a teacher and Mary’s cousins had moved to California during the war as engineers in the aircraft industry. One lived in El Segundo, a small city bordering the Pacific Ocean and nestled between the Los Angeles airport and the Standard Oil refinery. They fell in love with the little town and found a house on a cul-de-sac nicknamed Christmas Tree Lane because the whole block put up fancy decorations every year (a tradition that continues to this day). From their back yard they could watch planes taking off and landing. Tom found his hoped-for job with United Airlines and always left for work with a grin, happy to work only 10 minutes away and in such a beautiful place. After her children settled into school, Mary decided to find a job. She brushed up on her clerical skills, bought a typewriter, and practiced stenography. Offered a job with the LA school district, she decided to stay closer to home and interviewed with the El Segundo School District. Though a clerical job wasn’t available, the superintendent thought Mary could learn to operate the district’s PBX phone system. She took a chance and started on a career that lasted 21 years, from directing phone calls and calling substitutes to working in the purchasing department. Mary loved working and never missed a day. Tom and Mary took full advantage of his United Airlines employee travel passes, visiting Hawaii many times. They also flew to Japan, Yugoslavia, London, Paris, and twice to Germany. At age 60 Mary and Tom retired. They had purchased a condominium in Desert Hot Springs, California, at the Mission Lakes Country Club. Tom loved golfing, Mary not so much. Still, they loved the desert and decided to sell their home in El Segundo and build a new house on a lot at the club. In 1988 they moved into the new home decorated with southwest flourishes and zebra knick-knacks. They joined Christ Lutheran Church and formed many new friendships. While her husband golfed, Mary was involved in the Lutheran Women’s group and the local TOPS organization. She also joined the Desert Hot Springs Women’s Club, holding several offices and serving as president twice. Every month she and her husband had lunch with other retired United employees living in the desert area. Together she and Tom attended many annual army reunions and even hosted one. Frank family reunions were also special events. A surprise call came in early 1994 from the Veteran’s Administration asking if Tom would object to the release of his phone number to a French TV company. This led to a lovely meeting with two French sisters who had found a package of letters (including a few from Mary) that Tom had left in a foxhole near their home in Mortain in 1944. They had kept the letters for 50 years and wanted to return them to the owner. Mary and Tom and their new friends appeared twice on French television specials celebrating the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Though the sisters spoke little English and Mary and Tom no French, all of them treasured their friendship, and Mary kept up a correspondence with the two women over the following years. In 2001, Tom passed away after nearly 55 years of marriage. Mary stayed in her home and doubled-down on her activities. Having come to California the same year the Angels joined the American League, Mary had a fondness for her favorite player, Albie Pearson. When the former ballplayer began his ranch for abused and neglected boys, she organized annual Christmas gift donations for the residents. The Women’s Club also awarded scholarships to local students pursuing higher education. Mary regularly supported the Wounded Warriors and the Guide Dogs of the Desert. Mary suffered another loss in 2005 when her son Terry died after a lengthy illness. Though distressed over his passing, she took comfort that his father had not witnessed Terry’s suffering. Mary’s son Tom, his three daughters, Lyndsey, Lesley, and Whitney, and their families came to California for Christmas 2014 and to celebrate her upcoming 91st birthday. Held at the Christ Lutheran fellowship hall, the room was packed with friends she made in Desert Hot Springs. A self-trained musician, Mary loved music and playing the piano. She loved crafts and making things and was always on the lookout for little projects, especially ones to do with her granddaughters when they were small. She wrote lots of letters and when Terry helped her get a computer, shifted to using email. She found a software program that made cards and created fancy borders for her annual Christmas letters. She also liked card games, fortunate because pinochle was the Frank family game of choice. In Desert Hot Springs she joined a group that played the dice game Bunco once a month. She enjoyed it so much she would often practice rolling the dice on her own. Mary remained a lifelong Angels fan and set her evening and weekend routines around their televised schedules. Mary loved fashion and dressed stylishly into her 90s. She had a closet full of attractive outfits with drawers of accessories. She seemed to believe in the saying, “If the shoe fits, buy two pair.” She developed a passion for romance literature and filled a spare closet with paperbacks. Having two sons, Mary always wanted a daughter and doted on her daughter-in-law, Kathy, and her three granddaughters, all of whom loved her dearly. Her persistence, determination, organization, and ideals of and service are qualities passed on to her granddaughters. Time began to catch up with Mary, and though in good health, living on her own became harder. In the Fall of 2017, she moved to Washington to stay with her son and granddaughter Whitney, eventually transitioning to assisted living. Mary is survived by her son Tom Frank of Lynnwood, Washington; her granddaughters Lyndsey Lynch of Edmonds, Washington, Lesley Larkin of Marquette, Michigan, and Whitney Frank of Lynnwood; her great-grandchildren Killian and Alexander Larkin of Marquette, and Jakob, Sophia, and Matthew Lynch of Edmonds; her sister-in-law Joanne Frank; and many nieces, nephews, and their families.