Born: April 13, 1952
Born into eternal life: April 15, 2020
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter,
He who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price,
No sum can measure his worth.
Sirach 6:14-15 NAB
All of us consider ourselves blessed to have a friend such as these words describe. Frank was that kind of friend.
Frank passed away April 15, 2020 after a courageous 2-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
Born April 13, 1952 in Fort Ord, California, Frank was the only son of Buck and Shirley Nelson. He and his sisters, Gloria and Cindy, moved to the Seattle area in 1957.
Frank attended school at St. Matthew’s Elementary and graduated from Nathan Hale High School in 1970.
Frank married his wife of 44+ years, Pam on August 16th, 1975. They settled into their home in North Seattle, now Shoreline, and raised their two children Grant Ross and Natalie Ann. He is remembered by his family as a wonderful husband and father.
He went to work at Griffin Envelope Company in Seattle and worked there many years as a printing press operator before moving on to VN Graphics Company in Redmond in 1993, working there as a printing plate maker. In 2002 he left VN, obtained his Commercial Driver License, spent a short time as a truck driver for an equipment rental company, then started his career as a driver for Metro Transit. His illness finally forced him to retire at the end of 2018.
Everywhere Frank worked he made many friends, and was much loved for his cheerful, boisterous spirit, great sense of humor, and his kindness and generosity. Frank loved people, and people loved Frank.
He was humble and self-effacing; always grateful for his friends and for any kindness shown him. But he appreciated even more the chance to do something for someone else. While working at Griffin Envelope he used to collect cardboard that was designated for disposal and turn it in for recycling. In those days a small amount of money was paid for recyclables. He would save up the money and use it to purchase rocking chairs, which he would donate to Children’s Hospital in Seattle.
A devoted husband and father, Frank dedicated his life to providing for his wife Pam and their children Grant and Natalie. He was particularly devoted to his developmentally disabled son Grant and worked tirelessly to provide him with every available opportunity to live life to the fullest extent possible.
He enjoyed family vacations and getaways to the family property at Blue Lake in the Grand Coulee area of Eastern Washington. He especially enjoyed waterskiing or just relaxing in the sun with family and friends.
Frank was a lifelong Catholic with a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In his later years he could often be found at daily Mass at St. Joseph’s Carmelite Monastery near his home. He had many friends in the community, as well as among the nuns in residence there. He continued attending Mass there on Saturday mornings until his illness made it impossible. He was also active in both Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Seattle’s Wedgewood neighborhood and St. Pius X Parish in Mountlake Terrace. He would often take his mother to Sunday Mass, then spend the morning with her. His faith was a great source of strength to him throughout his life, and especially as his illness progressed. He was particularly grateful for the kindness, encouragement and support of Father Tim Clark at Our Lady of the Lake during the last years of his life.
Frank was also very grateful for the compassionate and excellent care he received from Dr. Paul Martin and the staff at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Frank is survived by his mother Shirley, wife Pam, and their children Grant and Natalie, his sister Cindy Anderson (Rick), nephews Reid (Annessa, Alaira and Kenley), Justin (JJ) (LJ and Marcus),niece Cindy Cherie (Jaela and Sophia), and his late nephew Christopher’s wife Melissa and their children Cameron and Brooke.
He was preceded in death by his sister Gloria, his nephew Christopher, his Aunt, Charma and his father Buck.
Due to the coronavirus restrictions there will be a small, private funeral service Saturday, April 25th, and interment at Holyrood Cemetery at a later date. The funeral service will be recorded and made available for viewing.
Remembrances may be made to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance or St Joseph Carmelite Monastery.
We would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all who generously loved, cared for and prayed for Frank. May God bless you!
I belong to Jesus Christ. Though death may take me, it cannot hold me, for it could not hold Him.
Christ is Risen!