Francis
“Frank” John Lennon died on April 29, 2024, at his home in
Burlington, Vt. He was born on May 1, 1948, at St. Vincent’s
Hospital in Manhattan.
Frank
spent his youth in Queens Village, N.Y. where he attended Our Lady of
Lourdes School. He was a frequent traveler, embarking on many summer
holidays to Ireland to visit his grandmother, aunts, uncles and
cousins. Steamship travel and the need to dress fancy for meals gave
Frank his love of three-piece suits and cool hats.
Frank
graduated from Power Memorial Academy in Manhattan. During high
school, he was a member of the glee club and bowling team. He often
recounted to his children that he needed to walk, take a bus and ride
the subway to get to school every day. He also liked to share that
one of his classmates went on to be a famous NBA star.
Frank
graduated from St. John’s University, in Queens, with a political
science degree in 1969. Frank loved to discuss politics and would
leave the TV on CSPAN for background noise.
Frank
was part of the “Sabre Street Madmen,’’ a group of close
friends who met in kindergarten and remained tight over the decades.
Frank’s masterful driving skills earned him the nickname “U-Turn,”
for his ability to make them on a dime and, for some reason, very
frequently.
Hot
rods and cars were an integral part of Frank’s life. From late
night drag racing to memorizing every aspect of any model of car ever
assembled, Frank knew automobiles. He could name them by their
headlight shape, their paint or decal options or how they sounded.
This love of cars was shared with his buds and his dad. Later in
life, he was the master of always reminding his loved ones when their
car needed an oil change. He also sent classified ads to anyone who
was thinking of buying a car, whether or not they asked for such
assistance. Lastly, Frank’s love of die-cast model cars continued
for over 70 years. Weekly outings to every drug store in northern
Vermont were a must to find a toy car with the properly portrayed
factory options.
His
early travel experience steered him towards his future career. His
first job was with Swissair at JFK, loading luggage onto planes and
dabbling in freight shipping. One perk of this position was last
minute, inexpensive tickets, which allowed Frank to travel the world
— alas, they were just quick trips with a backpack and a tight
turnaround.
In
the early 1970s, he left New York City for Connecticut and worked for
Emery Worldwide at BDI. He specialized in getting packages where they
needed to be, and Emery’s expansion to BTV brought him and his
growing family to Vermont in 1979. He continued to work for Emery and
its subsidiaries until the mid-1990s. He then worked at KBA Planeta —
moving industrial-sized printing press machines from Europe — until
his retirement in 2009. Despite his retirement from full-time work,
he brought smiles to passengers by reuniting them with their delayed
luggage and delivering Friday paychecks to those excited for their
weekend. Frank’s work ethic was bar none, and he didn’t miss a
day in his life. Frank later enjoyed lunch dates with his children,
attending his grandchildren’s concerts and sporting events,
puttering around the house and watching car videos on YouTube.
Frank’s
superpowers included: his quick wit and dry humor, you needed to be
fast to catch the joke; his ability to name any airport in the world
via its three-alpha code; his ability to get the family to the
airport with hours to spare; and his ability to carve a turkey. Frank
loved: good fish and chips; classic movies; Irish sweaters;
three-piece suits; and thrift shop T-shirts.
Frank
is survived by his seven children: Jeanne (Karl), Teresa, Jennifer,
Francis (Laura), Audrey (Patrick), Jack and Tony; as well as their
mother, Frank’s former spouse and lifelong friend, Kathleen Mellisy
Lennon. In addition, Frank is survived by his seven grandchildren:
Nicholas, Peyton, Carter, Parker, Milo, Tyler and Addison. Frank is
predeceased by his mother, Margaret O’Neill Lennon; his father,
Hugh P. Lennon; and his partner-in-life, Judith E. Ververs. He will
also be greatly missed by his crew: Tom, Frank, Tom, Frank (not a
typo), Anthony and Rich.
In
lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Meals on Wheels or to the charity of your choice.
A
memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2024, from 2
p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Ready Funeral Home, 68 Pinecrest Dr., Essex
Junction, VT 05452.
Arrangements
have been entrusted to the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation
Services. To send online condolences to the family please visit
readyfuneral.com
This article appears in May 1-7, 2024.