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Clayton and Shirley Frank -
A young Clayton Frank helps his new bride, Shirley, into their vehicle after getting married Oct. 18, 1952.
A Crescent City husband and wife who’d been married for almost 70 years died 17 days apart from each other.
Shirley C. Frank, 87, died Aug. 7 after an extended illness, and her husband, Clayton Arthur Frank, 94, died Aug. 24 also after an extended illness. People who knew them said the two, who owned and operated a funeral home in Crescent City, were a team that made the community better.
“Shirley and Clayton Frank were incredible pillars of the community, especially in South Putnam County,” granddaughter Ivee Sauls said in a statement. “They were major contributors to the community, employing many people. They made it all work with the help of a bunch of people, including family, on half of a city block in Crescent City.”
Clayton Frank, also known as “Junior,” moved to Crescent City at 4 years old. According to Johnson-Overturf Funeral Home, which is handling the funeral arrangements for the couple, Junior grew up in Crescent City and graduated from Crescent City High School in 1946.
He attended mortuary school at John A. Gupton College of Funeral Service in Tennessee and moved back to Crescent City, where he ran Clayton Frank & Sons Funeral Home. The business eventually became Clayton Frank & Biggs Funeral Home before being acquired by Johnson-Overturf.
Shirley Frank was born in Barberville but moved to Crescent City after marrying her husband on Oct. 18, 1952, her obituary stated.
“The Franks were a part of so much of what happened in Crescent City daily for many years,” Sauls said.
The Frank family owned the funeral home and Happ’s Cafe, and they operated the Greyhound bus station and Tamiami Freight Service.
According to his obituary, Clayton Frank and his brother “owned and operated the last ambulance service that ran in conjunction with a funeral home in the state of Florida.”
Shirley Frank served 40 years as a director for the Crescent City Cemetery Association, according to her obituary.
“They were a team,” resident John Newbold Jr. said, adding that Clayton Frank was a great member of the community.
Crescent City resident Cherie Register said people were either buried by the Franks, fed by them or took a trip from them.
“They were very instrumental in the early days,” she said.
In Shirley’s obituary, family members called her a staple at Happ’s Cafe for 50 years. “Everyone gathered at Happ’s,” Newbold said.
Family members remember a “breakfast club,” where pillars of the community would meet daily at the restaurant to talk about current events.
“For the Franks, most family memories happened around the dinner table,” Sauls said. “Family and friends would regularly gather at either Happ’s or at what was known as the Wooten House on Main Street on holidays or Sundays.”
The Frank family plans to host friends and family at the funeral home, 420 Cypress Ave. in Crescent City, on Friday for a 10 a.m. visitation and an 11 a.m. service for Clayton Frank. His burial in Eden Cemetery, where Shirley was buried earlier this month, will follow.
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