Frank Mead

Frank Jules Mead Frank Jules Mead, 90, our beloved husband and father, passed away March 12 in Phoenix. Born in Green Bay, WI, on April 27, 1929, to Frank B. and Cecelia (Carpiaux) Mead, Frank married his life-long love, Marjorie Ann Geiss, on November 5, 1949, and together they raised eight children. Frank and Marge often said their secret for a marriage which lasted 70 years: whoever left had to take the kids. The family home on Bader Street was a warm, welcoming gathering place for many of the friends his kids brought home for a meal, sleepover, sledding and backyard “sporting” events. How many bikes were ridden, required repair or replacement over the years remains a mystery! While living in Green Bay, Frank worked as an electrician, homebuilder, restaurant and bar owner, and service technician. After moving to Phoenix in 1971 for health reasons, Frank joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and worked as an electrician until his retirement, after which he stayed busy supporting Marge’s higher education, teaching and political endeavors. He built high-quality, one-of-a-kind pieces of wood furniture and remodeled their Sun City home. He and Marge traveled with family abroad and across the United States, viewing attractions they dreamt of seeing in their retirement years together. Frank also became quite interested in his genealogy and was proud of the progress and connections made, some whom he met when he toured Belgium. If you ask Frank’s children what his greatest accomplishment was, they would all agree, it was raising them, without an instruction manual, while working two or three jobs. He raised the kids with a firm hand but made fun family time, despite a limited budget, by going on picnics, to the drive-in movies, for root beer, to the beach in Algoma, and to family events at the Elks Club and St. Bernard Church. With his help forts were built for backyard entertainment by his sons, doll houses for his daughters, and the family was never without ‘pets’ given a succession of rabbits, gerbils, fish for the aquarium, and rescued kittens. Nearly every Sunday was spent with the grandparents, Bud and Celia, enjoying a meal while the flock of kids played in the attic, drank all the soda pop, and ate every last cookie or piece of candy in the house! Visits with Frank’s brothers and their families built a lasting sense of extended family which continues to this day. Even during Frank’s later years, as his health declined, his sense of humor and love for family never diminished. Frank was preceded in death by his stillborn first son Thomas, his parents, his brothers Jack and Eugene, and sister-in-law Ramona. He is survived, and will be greatly missed, by his wife of over 70 years; his children, Terrance of Glendale, AZ, Karen (Tim Johnson) of Phoenix, Kenneth (Emilie) of Sun City, AZ, Susan Bell (Raymond) of Prescott, AZ; Janice Noble of Prescott, Brian of Tempe, AZ, Marilyn of Glendale, and Diane of Pinehurst, NC; 12 grandchildren; six greatgrandchildren; two great-great-grandsons; his sister-in-law, Patricia of Green Bay; and five nephews and one niece of greater Green Bay. A celebration of Frank’s life will be scheduled later. In the meantime, the family encourages sharing additional memories/stories of our much loved patriarch on this website. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial donations be made to the American Heart Association by contacting the Phoenix Arizona Chapter. ***THE FAMILY RESPECTIVELY ASKS THAT NO FLOWERS SHOULD BE SENT OR TREES PLANTED, THANK YOU***