Freeman Frank of Columbia passed away on Dec. 23, 2025, just three weeks shy of his 92nd birthday. Frank, as he preferred to be called, was a Marine. He served 9 months and 23 days in Korea where he transported wounded soldiers from the front lines to medical camps MASH units. Later, in 1955, he took a 6x6 truck from Barstow, Calif., to Fairbanks, Alaska, crossing the Alcan Highway when it was a rock infested dirt trail.
His first businesses in the area were in Danville and St James, where he operated fuel stops for Fina oil. He then built a unit in Wright City and leased a fourth unit in Montgomery City. He later added a restaurant called the Homestead in New Florence at the old MFA truck stop. A fire at the Montgomery City unit caused him to leave the area for Chicago in 1971. He managed and leased several service stations in Chicago for Checker Oil. He later served as district manager for Harper Oil in Springfield, Ill. After a decade of paying off debts and saving up a bank roll, Frank returned to Montgomery City and bought his former restaurant at the north end of town from Wayne Snell. (It is known today as Sugar Daddies).
In 1984, Frank had a falling out with the State of Missouri when labor officials instructed his dishwashers that they didn’t have to mop floors at Frank’s Homestead Café in New Florence. This was a low point for Frank. He couldn’t have a bank account for over a decade. He moved to a farm near Auxvasse and worked at a fuel desk in Kingdom City for five years. He kept a shotgun by the door in those days and often hunted for his evening meal while walking his dogs. Later, he hired on with O’Reilly Auto Parts and wore out four pickups delivering auto parts across Columbia for over a decade. He became a regular at the Columbia Senior Center. He and Darleen Richardson hosted weekly events at the center for a decade. Through the week in summers, Frank thinned the catfish population on Truman Lake. They had his and hers pontoon boats. One for skiing and the other for fishing.
Frank was the last survivor of five siblings. But you can’t speak about Frank without mentioning his eight wives. Yes, 8! The first three he married. The last five relationships lasted on average seven plus years making them common law wives. Some were rather noteworthy.
Second wife Lavern was a niece to J. S. Alberche. Alberche Construction built the 270 loop around St. Louis and many other projects globally.
Third wife Brenda was the stepdaughter of broadcasting legend Roy Queen of Warrenton. Frank wed Brenda at 36 when she was just 21. One of his biggest regrets was losing track of her daughter Sheri Linn, known as Chief, because at just four years old, she stole our hearts and ran everything.
Fourth wife Morty Swenson was the sister of Rick Swenson, a five-time winner of the Iditarod dog sled dog race in Alaska.
This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Ginger from Chicago. They met in 1966 when Frank was dispatched to build two superstations for Merit Oil of Philadelphia. The larger of these two units had 56 pumps which was a colossal fuel stop back in 1966. The odd thing was when Frank moved to be the frontman for Merit Oil in Chicago, they fired him just a few years later in 1968. The reason was a long-standing company policy that divorced men can’t conduct company business. After serving Merit Oil for 7 years as a district manager on the East Coast, they fired him. The move to Chicago prompted the divorce. Once relocated in Chicago, Lavern reconnected with a former lover from Decatur. It was Lavern who got the divorce to pursue her romantic agenda.
Ginger then entered, who picked up a brokenhearted Frank. Ginger was an escort for celebrities appearing on the late 1960s broadcast Playboy After Dark, hosted by Hugh Heffner. Frank and Ginger dated steadily for three years. When not entertaining celebrities, Ginger served as a hostess at a Chicago restaurant owned by Hawaiian singer Don Ho.
Through these 8 wives, Frank welcomed over 25 children into his home. He is survived by one biological son (Dan), a restaurateur and Teamster turned writer with 3 published novels. Frank also has numerous nieces and nephews mostly in Greenfield, Carrollton and Moline, Ill., with others along the East Coast.
There will be a military service at the National Veterans Cemetery in Jacksonville (Randolph County) at 1 p.m. on Jan. 27. There is an indoor pavilion to avoid any inclement weather.
Just months before his passing, Frank received Christ as his savior. Later, he asked, “How can he forgive me the way I carried on all those years?” He was assured that he is forgiven and welcomed into God’s presence eternally.
“Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Ecclesiastes 7:10
A feast for thought.
