Alan Williams Frantz

                                                   Alan Williams Frantz
                                          May 30, 1938 – February 21, 2025

Alan Williams Frantz died on Friday, February 21, in the presence of his wife Ann and his
daughter Valerie. He had been suffering from vascular dementia and diabetes for many years.
Born in Huntington, Indiana, Alan was raised in North Manchester by his father Ira Frantz and
mother Alta Williams Frantz. He was the fifth of six children. A gifted student, Alan was
valedictorian of his high school class and competed in state-level debate and academic
competitions; going on to study at Manchester College, he completed a bachelor’s degree in
three years, majoring in Mathematics and Chemistry. He would go on to pursue graduate
studies at Boston University and MIT. His professional career as a software engineer with Digital
Equipment Corporation began in the early days of computing. This work included training
customers internationally.

In high school Alan met his first wife, Anne Finnell. They were married in 1957 while both were
students at Manchester College. Moving from Indiana to Massachusetts after graduation, they
had three children: Kathryn Anne, Valerie Jeanne, and Andrew Alan. In 1970 Alan met the
woman who would become his wife and life-long companion, Ann Treadway Cook. Alan and
Ann lived together for 45 years, joining Ann’s three Cook children and Alan’s three Frantz
children into one family.

Alan had a deeply held love of nature, hiking and gardening. His favorite place was Mount
Desert Island in Maine, where he loved helping his kids climb the Precipice Trail and enjoying a
reward of chocolate and oranges at the top of the mountain. He hiked trails from the Canadian
Rockies to the Lake District of England, always with a quiet and profound appreciation of
nature’s beauty. An avid canoeist, some of Alan’s most cherished life experiences were
wilderness canoe trips to the Boundary Waters of Canada and the Allagash River in Maine. Alan
was at home when connected to the earth. A meticulous gardener, he would bake dirt in the
oven before using it to start tomato plants and would sift soil through a metal screen to
prepare garden beds. A cherry tree in the front yard was Alan’s pride and joy, and putting a net
over it was a yearly ritual whose challenge increased as the tree grew. He was also an
astronomy enthusiast and travelled great distances to view solar eclipses.

Alan was a prolific traveler. Two cross-country road trips took the family from Boston to the
west coast and back in the trusty big blue van. Along with national parks, destinations included
side trips to tour state capitol buildings and hydroelectric dams as often as possible. Alan was
not afraid of getting lost and always wanted to take the “scenic route.” He visited all 50 states
and travelled to Europe and South America.

Alan was a lover of games and puzzles. He had a serious passion for contract bridge: he played
regularly in local games and national tournaments, achieving the rank of Gold Life Master; he
ran a bridge club as Director for several years; and continued playing nearly to the end of his life.

Alan created family games including elaborate Christmas gift swaps and epic Easter egg
hunts. Playing family card games—and sometimes creating new rules—gave him great joy.

Alan’s interests also included history, baseball—and cats. He read avidly the history of World
War II and the Civil War, and could recite the Gettysburg Address even in his final years. He was
a baseball fan since boyhood, visited many ball parks while travelling, and witnessed the
famous Red Sox victory in game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Alan loved cats as much as anything
in life. If there is a heaven, Maggie will be there with him, sitting on his lap and purring.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his five siblings: Jacob Royal Frantz, Bob Frantz,
Galen Frantz, Ruby Rhoades, and Marilyn Frantz. He is survived by his beloved wife Ann
Treadway Cook-Frantz; his three children: Kathy Garrity of Westfield, Indiana; Valerie Frantz of
Elyria, Ohio; Andrew Frantz of Mount Pleasant, Michigan; his three step-children: Carol
Flannagan of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Susan Otterson of La Crescent, Minnesota; and Stephen
Cook of London, England; as well as eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 at the Oberlin Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship (355 East Lorain St., Oberlin, Ohio) with Rev. Mary Grigolia presiding.
Those who are unable to be there in person may participate via Zoom here. Alan’s remains will
be interred at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in North Manchester, Indiana at a later date.

Donations in Alan’s honor may be made to the Land and Garden Preserve of Mount Desert
Island, Maine at https://www.gardenpreserve.org/

Online condolences may be expressed at https://www.cowlingfuneralhomeoh.com/

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