Franklin A. Yates, Bridgewater Citizen

Frank was a long-time resident of Bridgewater – longer, in fact, than the lifetimes of most people in this township.

Although born in Ancón, Panama Canal Zone, just two years before the canal’s completion by a U.S. led construction team, Frank would not see the U.S. mainland until his late teens, when he left to study at MIT in Boston.

His dad, who was a U.S. citizen, had gone to Panama to teach English, where he subsequently married a native Panamanian, Eudoxia Arias. At the time, U.S. law recognized the child of such a union as a citizen of the United States.

The survival skills and disciplines which Frank acquired in his childhood and teen years in Panama would serve him well throughout his life. He was an intelligent and diligent tri-lingual student. In high school, the French Consul presented him with an award for best student. Frank would go on to graduate from Balboa High School as valedictorian.

Frank was especially proud of his proficiency in Spanish. During his years in Bridgewater, he always sought out Spanish speakers, and never passed up a chance to strike up a conversation when he saw Latinos or Hispanics working in his neighborhood.

Although Frank belongs to an era which is slowly but irrevocably slipping into the past, he left a set of values and characteristics which are timeless. He was a highly-focused, self-effacing, selfless person, rigorously dedicated to his family, job and community. Had he been a participant in the workforce of the 60’s and 70’s, the growth years of the electronic and computer industries in the Bay State, he could have comfortably written his own ticket.

Instead, when Frank graduated from MIT sporting an electrical engineering degree, he slammed headlong into the job market of the Great Depression. Even that was not enough to daunt his indomitable spirit. He eventually landed a job in the Boston area, where he met his wife-to-be, Marjorie, a Jersey girl and Radcliff student.

The couple moved to Bridgewater, where Frank and Margie settled down and raised a family. Frank landed a war-related job where he was the key person to develop sub-horsepower electrical motors. This engineering achievement would provide critically-needed accuracy for anti-aircraft guns.

I could go on, but you get the idea: We all stand on the shoulders of people who preceded us and to which we owe gratitude and the obligation to follow in their footsteps. That’s really part of the essence of America, isn’t it?

Frank left us on Wednesday, February 20th, at the age of 95. But the example of his life still shines in Bridgewater.

Note: Did you know that Presidential candidate John McCain was also born in the Panama Canal Zone?