Rev. Walter Harvey Frank, 95, went home to be with his Heavenly Father on July 4. He will be remembered as a faithful husband, loving father, and dedicated servant of the Lord whose kindness and warm sense of humor won him many friends around the globe. At the time of death, he was a resident at the Covenant Village in Turlock.
Walter was born in Langhorne, Penn. and moved to Allentown, Penn. at an early age. He graduated from Allentown High School in 1933. Walter completed a three-year Pastor’s Course in the Mennonite Brethren in Christ denomination, now the Bible Fellowship Churches, and took courses of study at Muhlenberg College and Eastern Baptist Seminary. Walter married his sweetheart, Ethel Wieand, on July 26, 1940. He entered the Christian ministry and was ordained in 1942. Walter pastored four churches, including his home church in Allentown.
He traveled in Holland and Germany with Youth for Christ International in 1951 as a Christian evangelist. In 1952, his family moved to Germany where Walter served as field representative for Youth for Christ International for a year and a half. He served on the Boards of Africa Inland Mission, Orinoco River Mission, Greater Europe Mission, and the International Foreign Missions Association. In 1960, Walter became general director of the Greater Europe Mission in Chicago, serving until 1980. Upon his partial retirement, he and Ethel relocated to California. Walter served as West Coast Director at Large for Greater Europe Mission, traveling the western U.S. and Canada, speaking at missions’ conferences, Bible schools and seminaries. He served for nine years as Pastor to Senior Adults at Fair Oaks Baptist Church in Concord. In 1996, Walter and Ethel moved to the Covenant Village of Turlock. There he was a member of the Crossroads Evangelical Free Church.
Walter is survived by his wife of 70 years, Ethel; sister, Clara Cressman of Carol Stream, Ill.; sons, Douglas (Marjorie) of Ashland, Ore., David (Debbie) of Banyoles, Spain, Dale (Debbie) of Wheaton, Ill., and Donald (Nancy) of St. Joseph, Mich.; daughter, Dawn (Tony) Webster of Spotsylvania, Va.; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and nieces, Diane Lindley of Wheaton, Ill. and Lenore Sherrick of Elizabethtown, Penn.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 17 at Crossroads Church, 1360 N. Johnson, Turlock. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given in Walter’s name to Greater Europe Mission, 18950 Base Camp Rd., Monument, CO 80132 or to Covenant Village Benevolent Fund, Covenant Village, Turlock, CA 95382.
Walter was born in Langhorne, Penn. and moved to Allentown, Penn. at an early age. He graduated from Allentown High School in 1933. Walter completed a three-year Pastor’s Course in the Mennonite Brethren in Christ denomination, now the Bible Fellowship Churches, and took courses of study at Muhlenberg College and Eastern Baptist Seminary. Walter married his sweetheart, Ethel Wieand, on July 26, 1940. He entered the Christian ministry and was ordained in 1942. Walter pastored four churches, including his home church in Allentown.
He traveled in Holland and Germany with Youth for Christ International in 1951 as a Christian evangelist. In 1952, his family moved to Germany where Walter served as field representative for Youth for Christ International for a year and a half. He served on the Boards of Africa Inland Mission, Orinoco River Mission, Greater Europe Mission, and the International Foreign Missions Association. In 1960, Walter became general director of the Greater Europe Mission in Chicago, serving until 1980. Upon his partial retirement, he and Ethel relocated to California. Walter served as West Coast Director at Large for Greater Europe Mission, traveling the western U.S. and Canada, speaking at missions’ conferences, Bible schools and seminaries. He served for nine years as Pastor to Senior Adults at Fair Oaks Baptist Church in Concord. In 1996, Walter and Ethel moved to the Covenant Village of Turlock. There he was a member of the Crossroads Evangelical Free Church.
Walter is survived by his wife of 70 years, Ethel; sister, Clara Cressman of Carol Stream, Ill.; sons, Douglas (Marjorie) of Ashland, Ore., David (Debbie) of Banyoles, Spain, Dale (Debbie) of Wheaton, Ill., and Donald (Nancy) of St. Joseph, Mich.; daughter, Dawn (Tony) Webster of Spotsylvania, Va.; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and nieces, Diane Lindley of Wheaton, Ill. and Lenore Sherrick of Elizabethtown, Penn.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 17 at Crossroads Church, 1360 N. Johnson, Turlock. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be given in Walter’s name to Greater Europe Mission, 18950 Base Camp Rd., Monument, CO 80132 or to Covenant Village Benevolent Fund, Covenant Village, Turlock, CA 95382.
