MENTONE – Frank D. Smith, 94, of Mentone, died at 5:24 a.m. Jan. 21, 2012, in Miller’s Merry Manor, Warsaw.
He was born Aug. 2, 1917, in Kosciusko County, to Alpheus and Myrtle Brown Smith. On Aug. 31, 1940, in Logansport, he married Geraldine “Jerry” L. Nellans, who died Jan. 25, 2011.
He was a millwright, working at the Co-operative Mill in 1940. In 1947, the couple purchased “Frank & Jerry’s” and operated it for 32 years. The store was leased at the time of a fire in 2003 that destroyed the building. Following retirement from their grocery business, he worked for a time at Price’s Abattoir, Plymouth.
A lifetime Mentone resident, he was a 1936 graduate of Mentone High School and a member of Mentone United Methodist Church. He was also a member of the Mentone Masonic Lodge for more than 60 years and the Scottish Rite and Mizpah Shrine, both of Fort Wayne.
Surviving are two sisters-in-law, Juanita Paulus, Rochester, and Norma Jean Clauss, Bourbon; a brother-in-law, Dean C. Nellans Jr.; and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by seven brothers and four sisters, including his twin sister Opal, who died at the age of 1 month.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at King Memorial Home, 101 N. Tucker St., Mentone, with Pastor Amber Karkosky-Litten officiating. Burial will be in Mentone Cemetery.
Calling is one hour prior to the service Tuesday at the funeral home. ***** Memorials may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Condolences may be sent via www.hartzlerfuneralservices.com
