Frank Severy
Jan 21, 1946 -
Jan 10, 2021
By the time we knew about his cancer, he lived only 3 weeks. Amazingly, he had no pain! He was loving to the end.
Frank was born in Alhambra, Calif. At 18 he met his soul mate, Karen Bauman, at a weekend Methodist camp. He graduated from Alhambra High, got his AA degree from Pasadena City College in 1966 and he and Karen went to Alaska to attend Alaska Methodist Univ in Anchorage. They fell in love with the state! Because they sang in the AMU Chorale and 1967 was AK Centennial year, the Chorale got to fly all over the state performing - they experienced Nome, Kotzebue, Yakutat, Cordova, Dillingham, Bethel - an amazing opportunity!
In 1968, Frank earned his BA in Math then he and Karen married in Aug. 1968 in Alhambra Calif. They returned to AMU where Karen got her BA in Math in 1969. Frank was about to be drafted so he signed up for computer training in the Navy instead. After his training at Mare Island they were stationed in San Diego, Calif. for 4 years. Frank shipped out on a destroyer tender where he was responsible for the computer that did payroll, so he had clout! His travels included Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, & the Philippines for 6 months, then Vietnam. Luckily, his ship was only in DaNang harbor for 3 months and avoided being mined, so he came back alive! While living in SD, Frank replaced the engine in their Landcruiser, they backpacked in the Sierras, even climbing 13,000 ft Mt Starr, played tennis and went body surfing - great beaches!
Frank left the Navy in 1976 & they moved back to Alaska where he worked on computer hardware at Microdata and was in charge of their Anchorage office while Karen was a Fortran programmer at ARCO. In 1979, they got to fly with Frank's friend Ken all summer enjoying camping & fishing all over Southcentral Alaska! They flew to Dillingham and traveled the series of Wood River Lakes alone on an exciting wilderness canoe trip! When Frank's dad died in 1986, Frank took over his dad's business "Frank Severy Publishing" for many years.
In 1992, Frank & Ken (a friend) went to New Zealand fishing and made a lot of friends there, then Frank worked several summers as a fishing guide for Ken's Lodge in Cooper Landing (where he made more NZ friends). He always loved flying over the icefields, mountains & glaciers - so amazing! Then in 1997, he and Karen spent a wonderful month traveling NZ & visiting all those friends! They also made many trips over the years camping, hiking & fishing the western U.S., especially the Nat'l Parks, including 1-2 weeks every July for 20 yrs fishing & camping with the bears in Katmai. (Frank always thought he'd been a bear in a previous life!) Frank and Karen did almost everything together, including tennis in many states as well as NZ & they were 2010 AK State champs in senior mixed doubles. They felt very lucky to have had 56 wonderful years together water skiing, x-country and downhill skiing, enjoying friends & family gatherings and trips and all of the above.
Frank really was the best - always ready to help when needed and was mechanically talented. He did plumbing, woodworking, always helped dig the garden, & could figure out how to do almost anything. He was generous, loving & gave great hugs. He was an outstanding athlete who loved the competition but always had fun. He kept us laughing every day. He was an avid fisherman who became an avid tennis player! You could not have a more dependable, caring friend.
Rest in peace Frank, you are missed deeply every day.
In lieu of flowers, please be kind to all and live with gusto! Please send a fond memory, wish or pictures to frankfspub@yahoo.com and you will be notified of plans for a celebration of Frank's life.
