Francis Edward "Frank" Lang

Francis Edward "Frank" Lang, a longtime criminal defense attorney in the East Bay and former Hayward court commissioner, hockey coach, avid if not always accurate golfer, husband, father, and Poppa, died the morning of Tuesday, October 10th, peacefully and surrounded by his immediate family.Born in Omaha, Nebraska on March 29, 1938, Frank was the son of Joseph Lang, an Omaha policeman of stubborn German stock and Helen Gerin, a musician of equally stubborn Irish heritage. After graduating from Creighton Prep in Omaha, he moved with his parents and his younger brother Tom to San Francisco, where Frank had a scholarship to the University of San Francisco. He completed both undergraduate and law degrees on "The Hill" and began his career as a criminal defense attorney with Holmdahl and Fletcher Law Firm in Oakland, CA in 1963.After marrying Barbara Star in 1964, Frank soon found his second love in ice hockey. He had a hand in building the youth programs at both Hayward and Tri-Valley and coached his sons' teams. Frank continued his work in youth hockey, volunteering on a national level for USA Hockey as Pacific District Director and participated as a player with the Berkeley senior team in the Snoopy Hockey tournament for decades.Frank loved hockey, golf, Kauai, playing guitar, John Denver, and yelling at the 49ers, Giants, Warriors, and Sharks from his living room recliner. Mostly though he loved his family and being a grandfather. He is survived by his wife Barbara, his sons Frank Jr. (Dawn) and Mike (Diana), his daughter Suzanne, and five loving and perfectly defiant grandchildren, Joshua, Chance, Stellan, Simone, and Laila.In lieu of flowers, please make donations to George Mark Children's House in San Leandro or St. Francis Living Room, a Senior Center serving low Income and homeless older adults in San Francisco. Services will be held Friday, October 27th at 11:00 am at Our Lady of Grace Church in Castro Valley.