Charles Minor Frank

Charles Minor Frank, 84, of Asheville, passed away on Thursday, July 2, 2009, at St. Joseph Campus, Mission Hospitals, following a period of steadily declining health. Born in Asheville on September 16, 1924, Mr. Frank was a son of the late Ralph Raymond and Lois Goodman Frank. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill, where he earned a BS in Chemistry. He was a life member of the UNC Alumni Association and the American Chemical Society. Early in WWII, Charlie volunteered for the U.S. Army and attended Officer Candidate School and was assigned to flight training. He became a 1st Lt. serving with the 453rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force and was a co-pilot who flew B24 Liberators during WWII. His 10-man crew included 3 other Asheville natives. During a mission in February, 1943, their plane crashed into the North Sea. He was the only Asheville airman to survive and was the last man recovered from the accident after miraculously surviving for 30 minutes in 50° seas. A British minesweeper crew pulled him from the frigid water. He married Mary Lloyd Brown on August 7, 1948, and worked as a sales manager for the American Enka Corp. for 35 years. Charlie was an avid tennis player and enjoyed swimming, and had been a member of the Asheville Country Club since 1966. He also enjoyed the outdoors, taking many hikes into the Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains. Mr. and Mrs. Frank were active in the Friendship Force, and hosted many individuals from throughout the world. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lloyd Frank, of Asheville; daughters, Jennifer Holder and husband Steve, and their two sons, Steven and Samuel, of Winston-Salem, NC, Mary Kay Armstrong and husband Ned, their son Landon and daughter Mary Nell, of Alpharetta, GA, Chel Douglass, of Garner, NC, her son, John Charles and wife Erin, of Norfolk, VA, and Chel’s daughter, Kelly, of Raleigh, NC. Charlie will be remembered as a loving husband, wonderful father and grandfather, and a man with true strength of character. He will be remembered as a good friend to those who knew him and a faithful servant of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. A Requeium Mass will be celebrated at 2:00 p.m. Monday at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church with the Rev. Fr. Brent Norris, Rector, officiating In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 337 Charlotte St., Asheville, NC 28801. Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue is assisting with the arrangements.