Nov. 21, 1925 – Feb. 24, 2014
Arend J. Franken, 88, of Sweet Home, died Feb. 24. 2014.
He was born Nov. 21, 1925, the eighth of nine siblings on a farm in Town Ohio, in upstate New York, to immigrant parents, Gerhard and Edith (Etherton) Franken.
After graduating from high school, he was inducted into the Army and served from 1944 to 1946 in France as a Tech 5 sergeant, transporting troops and equipment during World War II. Because of his pride as a veteran, he spent many of his later years involved with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Upon returning from the war, Mr. Franken settled down in southern California, attended Whittier College, earned a bachelor’s degree, and met and married Betty Dayhuff. They had their first child and bought their first home on the GI Bill in Hawthorne, Calif.
Over the years, Mr. Franken worked as a materials engineer for several aerospace companies, including Martin Aircraft in Colorado, Boeing in Washington, and Hughes Aircraft in southern California. While at Hughes, the Frankens lived in Costa Mesa, Calif. from 1967 to 1988. Mr. Franken studied at Western University and earned a JD Law degree.
In the early days, he loved to take the family camping, go on rock hounding trips, and enjoyed backyard barbecues while sitting with his kids, watching an afternoon lightning and thunder storm over the Rockies. He hunted and fished, played card games with friends, and read many books.
In 1968 Mr. Franken became a Christian while attending Church of the Crossroads. Later he taught Bible studies and occasionally preached at Mapleton Evangelical Church. In the 1980’s the Frankens bought property in Mapleton to enjoy country life and retired there in 1990. Along with his involvement in VFW and Mapleton Evangelical Church, Mr. Franken volunteered for Start Making A Reader Today (SMART), and was on the board for the Mapleton Volunteer Fire department and Brickerville Cable Company.
In 2006, they moved to Sweet Home to be closer to family, where Mr. Franken joined the Evangelical Church, VFW and volunteered with the Ladies Auxiliary to help with Bingo at Twin Oaks Rehab and made many good friends.
The family thanks all the people who went to visit him these past few months. It really brightened his last days. He was loved and will be missed by many.
Mr. Franken is survived by his wife, Betty; his three daughters, Sharon Henderson of Milwaukie; Shirley Franken of Lakewood, Colo., and Sally Hefty of Sweet Home; five grandchildren; one great-grandchild; a brother, Bernard Franken; and a sister, Alice Freund.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at Sweet Home Evangelical Church, 1347 Long St.
Memorial contributions can be made in Mr. Franken’s name to a veterans charity of your choice. Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.