The local ABC store lost a loyal customer and the Trailer Bar is down one member as of Thursday, June 6, when Richard “Dick” “Jiba” “Little Dickie” “Herbie” Burgess Frankenfield went to live in the stars - probably on Jupiter. Dick and Debe, his wife of 40 years, had retired to Topsail Island, NC in February, where he got to enjoy a few months of sunrises and sunsets before leaving behind his empty beach chair.

He is survived by Debe, of Timonium, MD; his daughter Kelly Adams & her husband Jay of Richmond, VA; his daughter Kimberly Frankenfield & her husband Mike Costello of Parkville, MD; his brother & sister-in-law Jay & Kitty Frankenfield of Cookeville, TN; many nieces and nephews, including Whit & Lindsay of Nashville, TN; his four grandchildren, Jack, Charlotte, Lucy, and Ellie Jane; and his favorite family member: his dog, Tinkerbell. His adopted daughter Carolyn McWilliams heads a very long list of other people’s kids who loved him like a father.

Dick wouldn’t have wanted the usual list of occupations, and there were too many for the space available in any event (but if you ever needed a handyman to train your attack dogs, grow some pumpkins, and sell you a truckload of raisins, he was your guy). Instead, just a few of the things he was best known for: putter-only golf on a real golf course, fetchingly flamboyant reading glasses, cheap scotch, coining unique phrases, telling jokes, doing magic tricks, speaking something that sounded a little like Spanish, refilling your drink before you noticed you were running low, and a blue Ford pickup held together by Band-Aids and some unknown force of the universe.

Plans are in the works for a private celebration of life to be held in Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, donations made to the Kendall Burrows Foundation or the Topsail Sea Turtle Hospital would be so appreciated by Dick and his family. We also request that you pour a stiff drink (cheap scotch or otherwise), send up a toast to Dick, and live every day like it’s the Best Damn Day of Your Life, Thank You for Asking.

https://www.kendallburrowsfoundation.org/donate

https://www.seaturtlehospital.org/donate/