Franklin R. Fass

Franklin Roderick Fielding Fass, 91, of Beavercreek, Ohio, passed peacefully on Wednesday, June 8 at Traditions of Beavercreek. Franklin "Frank" Fass was born on August 31, 1930 in Long Island, New York to Maurice and Estelle (Graubard) Fass. He was named after his father's military mentor, Franklin Fielding, who was a father figure to Maurice. Frank's father was in several branches of the Armed Forces and moved his family many times throughout Frank's growing up years that included several cities in New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, California and Florida. After World War 2, his family was moved to Munich Germany where Frank attended Munich American High School and graduated with honors. Some of Frank's best growing up years were during this time in Germany where he, his mother and sister traveled to Europe by an Army troop ship. Frank graduated from ROTC at Purdue University in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Air Transportation and began his career in the United States Air Force. He married Doris (Weinhold) Fass in 1951 and was sent to New York to earn his degree in Air Weather Service from New York University. He was a weatherman for the Air Force, being stationed in Japan and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. In 1957, he was sent to Pilot Training in Lubbock, Texas to become a jet pilot, a brave feat as his father was killed in a military air crash a few years earlier. He flew KC-135s, KC-97s, B-52s, and T-37s and became a Command Pilot with over 3000 miles. After becoming a Captain, Frank was sent to Georgia Tech to earn his Master's Degree in Information Science in 1965. Promotion after promotion, Frank's seasoned career also included computer information systems and intelligence briefing. That, and being a pilot, landed him the noteworthy and highly visible command as Chief of the Situation Center in NATO, Brussels Belgium from 1974-1977. Frank served his country bravely during the Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, the VietNam War and countless tactical missions. He retired from the Air Force in 1981 as a full Colonel, earning the bronze star, the legend of merit, Air Force meritorious and meritorious awards, the small arms expert marksmanship ribbon and several campaign ribbons. He went on to work as a consultant with Harris Corporation. After his beloved wife, Doris, passed suddenly in 1983, Frank married Norah (White) Fass, the love of his life, in 1988. In addition to his 2 daughters, Norah's family became his family, and he soon came to be a dad to Norah's four grown children. The biggest loss came when after 30 years of marriage, his beloved Norah passed suddenly in 2018. But he and his dog, Roddy, made a new life at Traditions in Beavercreek, where he made lots of friends and enjoyed playing games and telling jokes. Frank was known throughout his entire life for his incredible sense of humor through joke-telling, puns and hilarious stories. He is survived by his sister, Roberta Glenn, his daughters, Maurie (Mark) Cofman and Becky (Luke) Lovich, his stepdaughters, Delores "Dee Dee" (Tom) Schmid, Debbie (Jim) Barker and Karen (Doug) Barney, his stepson, John (Susan) White, his grandchildren, Peter Schmid, John Schmid, John Charles Bailey, Nicole Moore, Nathan Lovich, Brittny Barney, Megan O'Dell, Niki Barney, Amy Rayborn, Jennifer Barker, Cameron Lovich, Melissa Meyers, Collin Lovich and Claudia McLain; 16 great grandchildren; his niece, Robin Okun and his nephew, Robert Todd Brewster.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, June 13, 2022 at 10am at St. Joseph Catholic Church.

The family would like to thank Day City Hospice as well as Traditions of Beavercreek for the love and support that they showed to both Frank and his family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Frank's honor to Day City Hospice.

To share a memory of Frank or to leave a special message for his family, please visit the guestbook below.