Allen Jesten Frank

Retired Navy Commander Allen J. “Al” Frank, age 84, of Pensacola Fl., passed peacefully June 30, 2021 at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola. He is preceded in death by his father William Risley, mother Octa Tucker Frank, brother Jerry Frank, aunt Irene Risley, and feline furdaughters Zoe and Ali. He is survived by his loving wife Sarah Frank, brother James B. Frank, sister-in-law Sharon Frank, sons James Frank, William Frank, Roger Frank, Scott Trawick, daughter Angela Trawick, and canine furdaughter Cricket. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren. Al, one of three sons, was born in Holdenville, OK in 1937; in 1950, his family moved to the family farm in Nickerson, KS, where he graduated from Nickerson High School in 1955. During Al’s senior year in high school he enlisted in the Kansas National Guard. After high school, Al attended Hutchinson Junior College, graduating in 1957, and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After applying for and completing Aviation Electronics School he was assigned to the Navy’s Early Warning Squadron in Hawaii. Following successful deployments to Hawaii and Midway Island, he was subsequently selected for the Naval Scientific Education Program and graduated from Kansas University with a degree in Chemistry. Upon graduation, he attended Officer Candidate School where he received his commission and ultimately joined the pre-commissioned USS Belknap as an original plank holder. Shortly thereafter, he was selected for and graduated from US Navy flight school where, as the top graduate in his class, he elected to join the US Naval Aviation reconnaissance community, serving as a naval flight officer in the RA-5C Vigilante. As a flight officer, he completed numerous overseas tours in multiple aircraft carriers and completed four tours over Vietnam. He spent the entirety of his flight career in the Vigilante community, rising to the rank of Commander and serving as the last commanding officer of RVAH-6 in Key West, Florida, prior to the squadron decommissioning. His last act as CO of RVAH-6 was to donate an RA-5C Vigilante to the US Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, where the plane resides to this day. During his Naval career, he received numerous awards and citations, including but not limited to: Air Medal (5 awards), Presidential Unit Commendation, Navy Commendation Award (3 awards), Vietnam Service Award (5 awards), Naval Defense Medal, Sea Service Award (6 awards) and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation. In addition to numerous deployments and billets in his distinguished 29 year Naval career, Al also found the time and energy to graduate from Naval Post Graduate School with a Master’s Degree in Meteorology, believing that “If I’m going to fly Mach 2 in bad weather, I should be able to determine for myself what that bad weather is going to look like.” After retiring from the US Navy, Al set out to begin his second career by obtaining his Master’s Degree in Accounting from the University of West Florida (UWF), where he became an accounting instructor. UWF was where he met Sarah and they began their 27 years of marriage. Al and Sarah taught together at the University and are both CPA’s in the state of Florida. During his tenure at UWF, Al was the recipient of numerous teaching and advising awards at the department, college and university levels and was a member of UWF’s Distinguished Teaching Hall of Fame. Al was the faculty advisor for the accounting department’s student honor society for many years and, as the department’s Co-op/Internship advisor and recruiter contact, worked hand-in-hand with students and local and national employers in order to facilitate students’ placement in career opportunities. After retiring from his second career, Al and Sarah moved to Nickerson, KS to enjoy a quiet and peaceful life on a portion of Al’s family farm. Upon return to Nickerson, Al and Sarah were active members of the Salem Community Church in Nickerson, where they developed new and important relationships with all of those that were a part of the Salem Church family. Al has asked us to convey to his friends and family that he has enjoyed every minute of his life and is thankful for all of those that have enhanced each and every moment that he lived. He is especially thankful for his wife Sarah, who took care of him as his illness slowly deteriorated his physical self. The family would like to thank the medical staff at Baptist Hospital Pensacola for their tender care of Al during the final days of his illness and the medical and technical staff at the Bob Dole VA Hospital in Wichita for their care and support during the main course of his battle with ALS. Al is to be interred at Barrancas National Cemetery at NAS Pensacola; interment, with full military honors, will be performed at a date to be determined later this summer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Salem Community Church, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) or the ALS Association. You may express condolences online at www.fcfhs.com.

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Allen Jesten Frank

April 19, 1937 - June 30, 2021