Frank Callahan Jr.

Frank Callahan, Jr.

AGE: 89 • Wilmington

Died March 20, 2014. He was born April 2, 1924 to Frank and Alice Callahan.

Frank proudly served during WWII in the United States Navy, in the Pacific Fleet. From there, he brought home an army helmet and a Japanese rifle, which he displayed by his American flag in his front yard, to the delight of many Veterans. He got many notes of appreciation from fellow veterans.

In the Navy, he was a cook and went to frogmen school. He joked about making bean pies under water because he was a cook on a ship. Because of this, his Navy friends nicknamed him "Beans". When his commanding officer found Frank sending money to his wife he was eliminated from training because the wife would be a financial burden if he perished in the war.

After the war, he had many jobs. He worked for his father, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New Castle County Rural Police Department, Kiels and General Tire Companies, J.P. Dugan, and Delaware Brick from which he retired at the age of 67. At his retirement party, he called up his granddaughters and announced, "This is what we do it for, boys" to those in attendance. He retired to pursue his real passion as the neighborhood "Mr. Fix-It" for his family, friends, and neighbors.

He was a lifetime member of the American Legion Joseph B. Stall Post, and a member of the Defiance Athletic Association.

His picnic table and front porch welcomed close friends and family on cool summer afternoons. He enjoyed watching the cars and people go down the highway.

He enjoyed family dinners and BBQs, holiday gatherings, and weekends with family on his houseboat, the "Rose Anne". A favorite pastime was teaching his grandchildren how to make "diamond" rings out of lightning bugs.

He had a passion for fixing things, rebuilding and selling cars (with all the "bells and whistles"), bikes and anything with a motor in it. Another passion was for his yearly vegetable garden in the back yard. He spent many summer nights picking vegetables with family members.

Frank was preceded in death by his daughter, Patricia Anne Merena; brothers, John "Reds", and Raymond and his wife Mary; and his sisters, Betty Edwards and her husband Charles, and Maybel Schrock and her husband Andy.

He is survived by his beloved "Bride" of 69 years, Charlotte (Czeslawa) T. Callahan (nee Grygo); sister, Marilyn Campbell (Benjamin); sister-in-law, Rose Callahan; sons, Victor Callahan (Susan), and Felix Callahan; daughters, Rosemary Callahan, and Anne Marie Callahan; son-in-law, Joseph Merena; seven granddaughters; eight great grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, and their children.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the service at Krienen-Griffith Funeral Home, 1400 Kirkwood Hwy., Elsmere on Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 11:30 am. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10:00-11:30 am Thursday morning. Interment in All Saints Cemetery, Newark.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made the Joseph B. Stall Post, Building Fund, 3 East Jackson Ave., New Castle, DE 19720.

Krienen-Griffith

994-9614

www.Delawarefuneral.com