Dr. Frank Nordstrom

1925 - 2017

Farmington's first pediatrician Dr. Frank Nordstrom, 92, died on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. He came into this world feet first in Gladbrook, Iowa, the son of Abbie Bright Fairchild and a Swede, Yalmer Napoleon Nordstrom. It was 1925 and Calvin Coolidge was president. He spent his childhood years in the rural outskirts of Chicago riding his bike and exploring the wild areas around the DuPage River with his dog Buck. After he graduated from high school in Glen Ellyn, Ill. in 1943 he took, and not surprisingly aced, one of the first-ever ACT tests. With war on the horizon, the U.S. Navy took note of his high scores and dispatched him to Duke University to study medicine – the war needed doctors and Frank didn't get a vote in the matter. He flew through his studies at Duke, graduating in two years, and then returned to Chicago to attend the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1950, promptly joined the U.S. Air Force a week later when the Korean War broke out, and was sent to Walker AFB in Roswell to serve as chief of pediatrics. There in southern N.M. he saw and climbed his first mountain, Capitán, under those enormous blue skies. He served two years, never looked back eastward, never returned to Chicago, and finished his residency at the University of Colorado in Denver.
After residency, he and his first wife Judy began searching for a place to begin a private practice and raise a family. Open spaces and blue skies had a hold on him now, and in 1954 he accepted an offer in Farmington - population 6000 with only two paved streets. For years he was Farmington's only pediatrician, and continued to practice for more than four decades caring for three generations of families. The early years in this still frontier town were an enormous challenge - as the sole pediatrician in town, he was on seven days a week, day and night. But he was young, resilient and up to the challenge as he faced conditions far removed from his training - gunshot wounds, car accidents, trauma, rare Illnesses, and complicated child birth. We all know that Frank put up with parents and directed his deep concern and care to his small patients. Many times he spent the night at the hospital with a desperately ill child and followed the next day with a punctual routine of office visits, sporting his classic bowtie. That was Dr. Nordstrom.
In addition to his demanding medical life and a family, Frank led hikes for the Sierra Club and he ran marathons, hammering the pavement and the dirt roads in the most miserable pair of Pumas you ever saw. He pursued passive solar energy, building a solar house in Farmington in the '80s. He served as president of both the State Board of Public Health and the Farmington Board of Education. About the time he was preparing to retire from Pediatrics, he was asked to be the first Medical Director at San Juan Regional Medical Center. Later, after retiring from SJRMC, he was inducted into its Hall of Fame as a leader in the developing era of the hospital. Subsequently, he became a licensed investment advisor, continued his eclectic reading and learning and spent as many waking hours as he could outside. Frank liked the idea of being a renaissance man and he succeeded, always finding energy for new books and conversations, endeavors and projects.
Frank was smart and disciplined and laughed heartily at a good joke. He was a keen doctor, and loved his work, this town and the friends he made here. He lived a life of economy – the depression and the war had a way of doing that. His love for the desert solitude born in Roswell and matured in the canyons of SE Utah, spoke to him on an almost spiritual level. The weight of responsibility and his "crustiness" dropped away when he was hiking in the desert sun. He came to know those canyons like the back of his hand, for a long time exploring them alone, keeping his own company save a raven or a jet contrail. This love filled his life ever after. He followed the path of the sun waiting for spring warmth and new adventure. He and Connie married in 1979, and together they pursued these common passions; they backpacked the distance, they explored and worked hard, restored a historic home in Cedar Hill, and managed a very personal medical practice - there wasn't much they weren't willing to tackle. In the canyons, they were their best selves. Frank also opened the canyons to backpacking with friends from all over. He became their canyon guru, their "Mr. Leaderman," and they returned year after year to share in the adventures. Many of them remain friends, united by the miles walked in canyons and over mesas, punctuated by campfire gatherings.
Frank was preceded in death by his oldest and youngest sons – Jim Nordstrom (2011) and Tom Nordstrom (2015). He is survived by his wife, Connie, who continues to enjoy the things they once shared. He is survived by his two children, David Nordstrom (Jane Fredman) of Colorado Springs and Susan Nordstrom of Denver. He also leaves behind Connie's children: Julie Strech-Guidone, Danna Manganaro, and Doug Strech as well as five grandchildren, Jaiyla Wiuff, Ellen Scherner, Ian Nordstrom, Jax Strech and Cooper Manganaro. In addition to Connie, his eight-year-old grandson Cooper was one of the last people that Frank recognized as Alzheimer's took him to another country, calling him "that little guy!" Ever the pediatrician.
Thank you to the caring staff of the BeeHive Home – you sustain our oldest and most frail.
A celebration of Dr. Nordstrom's life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at the First Presbyterian Church, 865 N. Dustin Ave. in Farmington. Memories and stories of Frank can be sent to Connie at 2825 Brittlebrush Drive.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Childhaven in Farmington or The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).