Obituary of Ralph L. Frank

Ralph L. Frank passed away at his home in Short Hills, NJ, on Saturday, September 6, 2008. He leaves his wife Lois, a son, Ralph Jr. of Morristown, NJ, a daughter, the late Kristi Frank Holzer of Chatham Township, and three grandchildren, as well as the family pug, Tiger. He was in the presence of his loving family. Mr. Frank was born on June 20, 1927 in Chicago, Ill. He attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. There he served as captain of both the football and baseball teams, playing in the Rose Bowl and running in the Drake Relays. He graduated with degrees in political science and law. Upon graduation, he joined The Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) in 1942 and served 36 years as a special agent. He worked for the Bureau in the Atlanta, GA and Baltimore, MD offices, where he met his future wife Lois Gilman. He was also posted to Princeton, NJ as part of the security team for the noted physicist, Albert Einstein, who was conducting research on behalf of the government at Princeton University. It was then he and his wife fell in love with suburban New Jersey. For the remainder of his career with the Bureau, he was posted to its Newark, NJ office, primarily in the Bank Robbery Detail. Over his career, he received more than two dozen commendations from the Director for his service in the line of duty. In 1976, at the age of 60, he earned the F.B.I.'s highest award, the F.B.I. Medal of Valor, the commendation for which reads, "Agent Frank exhibited extraordinary courage in striving to bring to justice armed and dangerous subjects. Agent Frank selflessly placed himself in danger in order to neutralize a life-threatening confrontation while being exposed to hostile gunfire.In the same heated engagement, Mr. Frank earned the F.B.I. star award for gunshot wounds received "when he left his position of cover to remove a fallen agent from the line of fire." Mr. Frank's next challenge was serving as the Director of Security at The Mall at Short Hills, for the next 18 years, watching a small, but upscale outdoor shopping mall become the states foremost luxury shopping destination . He retired from the position in 1994. He spent his retirement pursing his greatest interests in life: spending time with his family and their dogs. He was especially fond of taking family vacations in Edgartown, MA. A Funeral Service will be held at The Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home 2122 Millburn Ave, Maplewood on Thur, Sept 11th at 11:00 AM. Interment The Fair Mount Cemetery, Chatham. Visiting Hours Wed 2-4 & 7-9 PM