Learning of Frank’s death on the day that would have been Tucker and Julie’s 65th birthdays saddens me immensely, not only for the classmates we have lost, but for the opportunities to know each other better that we have missed. Frank’s witty and poignant remembrances of Julie made me wish I’d taken more time to know him better in high school. At this point in our lives we are experiencing the loss of contemporaries who we believe are too young to depart. Through this website, I’ve struck up conversations with many classmates who were not my closest friends in school. In each instance, I realize I missed much. As mortality rears its ugly head, perhaps laminating our Medicare cards this year should be a celebration and an excuse to reach out to the people we wish we knew better.
So well said Barbara. I always knew that this would start to happen, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I have very fond memories of Frank and we did have some great email exchanges after the website brought us together. When we moved to Bronxville my mother became friends with his mother. I am not sure how that happened, maybe we were in the same kindergarten class, but I often went to his house after kindergarten for lunch and I remember his mom picking us up and walking across the street to his house on Library Lane. As we got older and boys and girls kept to themselves and then moved on to HS we didn’t hang out, but there was always a bond and a kind smile when passing in the halls. He was definitely unique and his own man and of course gone way too soon.
I was for a time quite close to Frank, and loved spending time with him. He lived across from BHS on Library Lane, so we frequently hung out there. We built stuff in his father's shop. We were fans of Alison Steele, The Night Bird, on WNEW FM, and played In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida as loud as we could get away with, sometimes louder. He and I teamed up for our junior year chemistry project - a monumental task to build a functioning nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer - which we shorta kinda had working in time. We were also yearbook photographers, and together learned how to shoot and develop film and make prints. We fumbled around on some double dates. After leaving for college, we lost track of each other. We reconnected at our 40th and had a wonderful conversation. I regret that we were unable to follow that up with more face to face time, as he clearly had an interesting and fruitful life. Frank and I were quite different - he the optimist and extrovert; me the introvert and a bit of a pessimist. Yet we became friends. He always brightened my day, and I smile when I think of our time together. I'm glad and grateful to have known him.
A functioning nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer? Impressive! Julie and I merely spilled a lot of hydrochloric acid and had no idea what a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer was. Who didn't love Alison Steele, the Night Bird? Thank you, Tom, for sharing your memories of Frank.
Frank was a wonderful guy. I was very lucky to have lived with him and his family for 4 years during high school and college. It was great to see him at the reunion. He hadn't aged a bit. His hair was the same color it was in high school (unlike mine). When I learned of Frank's passing, it reminded me of a very moving eulogy Dr. Copenhaver gave when his mom passed away in January 1976. I kept a copy of it and one passage in particular stuck with me, "One of the extraordinary things that I have noted during her illness and even during these moments when our grief is fresh, is the number of people who have quietly, as though they were speaking to me in utmost confidence, said, 'You know, Yosh was my best friend.'" The same could be said of Frank. He will really be missed.
I have an early memory of Frank when we were 4th grade classmates. I was invited to his home and I remember his Mother being a lovely person. What impressed me so much at the time - was his artistry...he drew beautifully... seemed to just do it - as if it were second nature to him . I remember his drawings were quite sophisticated and abstract - very mature. He has commented with great insight and sincerity on the passing of other classmates on our page. Sad, that he has left us now too.
Scholar, artist, scientist, photographer, friend. To the list I’d like to add athlete. Frank was the track team’s MVP. He was our best pole vaulter, long jumper, and triple jumper. Unfortunately, the rules only allowed each athlete to participate in two events per meet. That wasn't a problem junior year when, along with the seniors, we ran away with the championship at the league meet. Between the Classes of ‘71 and ‘72, we were loaded. The next year, though, our class had to carry the load. Coach Catena made some excellent strategic decisions that led us to eke out a championship repeat. One of them was asking Frank not to defend his pole vault title. It worked out beautifully. Frank won both the long jump and the triple jump, and Larry Winant won the pole vault with my brother, Bill, a freshman, finishing an unexpected third. We needed all of those points, and Frank’s team-first attitude was critical to our success. That’s just the kind of guy he was. He’ll truly be missed.
P.S. I spoke with my brother, Bill. He has been visiting with Frank’s brother, Don. I also learned that Bill employed Frank’s nephew at one of his ski shops in Colorado this past season. Mostly, though Bill expressed his sadness over Frank’s passing and his appreciation for how Frank took him under his wing during Bill’s freshman spring and taught him how to pole vault. By his senior year Bill was competing at the state meet, for which he gives Frank much of the credit. Frank was a gift that just keeps on giving.
In Mrs. Sondegaard's 3rd grade class (or maybe 4th grade, since we had the same teacher for 2 years), being alphabetically connected with the McElroy, McVicar thing, Frank and I sat next to each other. What a gift to this shy little girl that was. Kind, gentle, and helpful, with that spark in his eyes that I saw again at our 40th reunion. One of my favorite elementary school memories involves a red yarn basket-making activity around Christmas time. The round cardboard cut-out, to resemble a tire spoke, was the base for red yarn to be woven around the spokes to create a little basket. Frank asked me if I would help him with his basket; he needed another pair of hands to tie it up to finish it off. He then asked if I'd help him wrap it in Christmas gift wrap. The next day, he presented it to me. "This is for you, Dianne. Merry Christmas." I think I still have that little basket in my treasure box. A truly treasured memory. Yes, there was a crush involved! How could there not be!?!
Frank was a treasure to this world. I'm grateful for knowing him.
Something I am profoundly aware of and thankful for is those I get to travel this life with. For better or worse, we are on the earth for the same time period in history, though brief it be. I am grateful for this BHS class of '72 forum to share our ever-varied journeys, and for the opportunity to continue to connect. And, though the heartache from losing treasured friends from our class is devastating, I am thankful for the shared journey.
Love to Frank, his family and friends who were near and dear in the past years, and love to all of you.
Barbara Overby (Blasch)
Learning of Frank’s death on the day that would have been Tucker and Julie’s 65th birthdays saddens me immensely, not only for the classmates we have lost, but for the opportunities to know each other better that we have missed. Frank’s witty and poignant remembrances of Julie made me wish I’d taken more time to know him better in high school. At this point in our lives we are experiencing the loss of contemporaries who we believe are too young to depart. Through this website, I’ve struck up conversations with many classmates who were not my closest friends in school. In each instance, I realize I missed much. As mortality rears its ugly head, perhaps laminating our Medicare cards this year should be a celebration and an excuse to reach out to the people we wish we knew better.
R.I.P. Frank
Phyllis Bourhill (Prestamo)
So well said Barbara. I always knew that this would start to happen, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I have very fond memories of Frank and we did have some great email exchanges after the website brought us together. When we moved to Bronxville my mother became friends with his mother. I am not sure how that happened, maybe we were in the same kindergarten class, but I often went to his house after kindergarten for lunch and I remember his mom picking us up and walking across the street to his house on Library Lane. As we got older and boys and girls kept to themselves and then moved on to HS we didn’t hang out, but there was always a bond and a kind smile when passing in the halls. He was definitely unique and his own man and of course gone way too soon.
RIP Frank Lloyd McElroy
Belinda Grundvig (Rosen)
So sad to hear about Frank, what a loss. Thanks to both Barb and Phyllis for their heartfelt comments.
Sleep well Frank,
Belinda
Thomas Swift
Yes, Barbara's remarks are eloquent.
I was for a time quite close to Frank, and loved spending time with him. He lived across from BHS on Library Lane, so we frequently hung out there. We built stuff in his father's shop. We were fans of Alison Steele, The Night Bird, on WNEW FM, and played In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida as loud as we could get away with, sometimes louder. He and I teamed up for our junior year chemistry project - a monumental task to build a functioning nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer - which we shorta kinda had working in time. We were also yearbook photographers, and together learned how to shoot and develop film and make prints. We fumbled around on some double dates. After leaving for college, we lost track of each other. We reconnected at our 40th and had a wonderful conversation. I regret that we were unable to follow that up with more face to face time, as he clearly had an interesting and fruitful life. Frank and I were quite different - he the optimist and extrovert; me the introvert and a bit of a pessimist. Yet we became friends. He always brightened my day, and I smile when I think of our time together. I'm glad and grateful to have known him.
Barbara Overby (Blasch)
George MacGovern
Frank was a wonderful guy. I was very lucky to have lived with him and his family for 4 years during high school and college. It was great to see him at the reunion. He hadn't aged a bit. His hair was the same color it was in high school (unlike mine). When I learned of Frank's passing, it reminded me of a very moving eulogy Dr. Copenhaver gave when his mom passed away in January 1976. I kept a copy of it and one passage in particular stuck with me, "One of the extraordinary things that I have noted during her illness and even during these moments when our grief is fresh, is the number of people who have quietly, as though they were speaking to me in utmost confidence, said, 'You know, Yosh was my best friend.'" The same could be said of Frank. He will really be missed.
Robert Maitland
I have an early memory of Frank when we were 4th grade classmates. I was invited to his home and I remember his Mother being a lovely person. What impressed me so much at the time - was his artistry...he drew beautifully... seemed to just do it - as if it were second nature to him . I remember his drawings were quite sophisticated and abstract - very mature. He has commented with great insight and sincerity on the passing of other classmates on our page. Sad, that he has left us now too.
Tom Miller
Scholar, artist, scientist, photographer, friend. To the list I’d like to add athlete. Frank was the track team’s MVP. He was our best pole vaulter, long jumper, and triple jumper. Unfortunately, the rules only allowed each athlete to participate in two events per meet. That wasn't a problem junior year when, along with the seniors, we ran away with the championship at the league meet. Between the Classes of ‘71 and ‘72, we were loaded. The next year, though, our class had to carry the load. Coach Catena made some excellent strategic decisions that led us to eke out a championship repeat. One of them was asking Frank not to defend his pole vault title. It worked out beautifully. Frank won both the long jump and the triple jump, and Larry Winant won the pole vault with my brother, Bill, a freshman, finishing an unexpected third. We needed all of those points, and Frank’s team-first attitude was critical to our success. That’s just the kind of guy he was. He’ll truly be missed.
P.S. I spoke with my brother, Bill. He has been visiting with Frank’s brother, Don. I also learned that Bill employed Frank’s nephew at one of his ski shops in Colorado this past season. Mostly, though Bill expressed his sadness over Frank’s passing and his appreciation for how Frank took him under his wing during Bill’s freshman spring and taught him how to pole vault. By his senior year Bill was competing at the state meet, for which he gives Frank much of the credit. Frank was a gift that just keeps on giving.
Dianne McVicar (Orlando)
Peace to dear Frank and his family.
In Mrs. Sondegaard's 3rd grade class (or maybe 4th grade, since we had the same teacher for 2 years), being alphabetically connected with the McElroy, McVicar thing, Frank and I sat next to each other. What a gift to this shy little girl that was. Kind, gentle, and helpful, with that spark in his eyes that I saw again at our 40th reunion. One of my favorite elementary school memories involves a red yarn basket-making activity around Christmas time. The round cardboard cut-out, to resemble a tire spoke, was the base for red yarn to be woven around the spokes to create a little basket. Frank asked me if I would help him with his basket; he needed another pair of hands to tie it up to finish it off. He then asked if I'd help him wrap it in Christmas gift wrap. The next day, he presented it to me. "This is for you, Dianne. Merry Christmas." I think I still have that little basket in my treasure box. A truly treasured memory. Yes, there was a crush involved! How could there not be!?!
Frank was a treasure to this world. I'm grateful for knowing him.
Something I am profoundly aware of and thankful for is those I get to travel this life with. For better or worse, we are on the earth for the same time period in history, though brief it be. I am grateful for this BHS class of '72 forum to share our ever-varied journeys, and for the opportunity to continue to connect. And, though the heartache from losing treasured friends from our class is devastating, I am thankful for the shared journey.
Love to Frank, his family and friends who were near and dear in the past years, and love to all of you.
Dianne