Francis F. Saucier

Francis Field ?Frank? Saucier, 98, of Amarillo, passed away Monday, March 3, 2025. Graveside services were held 10 a.m., Friday, March 7, at Llano Cemetery with Dr. Alan Burkhalter of Chaparral Hills Baptist Church officiating. The family received friends from 5-7 p.m., Thursday at Cox-Rowley Funeral Home, 4180 Canyon Drive.

The youngest of six, Frank was born May 28, 1926, on a farm outside of Leslie, Missouri, where the doctor who delivered him charged a dominicker rooster as fee for service.

From a young age, Saucier was sharp with his studies in the one-room Missouri schoolhouse and sharp with his shot ? hunting and trapping furs for pay. At five years old with a stick and a rubber-bound baseball, Frank's older brother Clay taught him how to play ball.

And play ball he did, rightly prioritized behind serving his country and attaining his education.

Commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy at the age of 18, Saucier served on an amphibious warfare commando team (a precursor to the Navy SEALs) when Truman dropped the first atomic bomb as he and his team were just 1,000 miles from Japan ? thus ending his active duty in WWII. Following that tour with the Navy, Saucier graduated from Westminster College touting degrees in Mathematics and Physics and a budding baseball career.

During his tenure in the minors, Frank earned both the silver bat for the highest batting average in a single season and the title of Minor League Player of the Year. Even with a burgeoning collection of awards and experiences, Saucier maintained his greatest thrill in baseball was meeting the love of his life, Virginia Lee Pullen.

A favorite family story, their rehearsal dinner was interrupted when his team, the San Antonio Missions, made an unexpected run for the Texas League Dixie Series Championship. Ever the gracious and understanding southern belle (strongly assuaged by her sports savvy father), Virginia acquiesced to his absence that Friday night; and the next day, the Missions rented a single engine plane to fly Frank to meet Virginia at the altar. With Saucier named MVP, the team went on to win the Dixie Series where the opposing team's manager was quoted lamenting, ?We more or less didn't really have much of a chance because we could not get that [expletive] Saucier out!?

A pillar of Academia (sans ego), Saucier's teammates dubbed him Professor for his brilliance both on and off the ball field. Following the minor leagues, Frank's stint in the majors was cut short with a shoulder injury and a recall to active duty in the Korean War. While his baseball career might have been abbreviated in time, he rightly viewed baseball as his path to an honest living. By wisely investing his baseball earnings, Saucier laid the groundwork for a career in oil and gas, finance and investment management with notable tenure at Merrill Lynch, Chemical Industries, Inc. and Prospera Financial Services.

From hunting and trapping in the backwoods of Missouri, to serving his country, playing ball, and leveraging his education into a successful career in the Panhandle of Texas ? Frank Saucier truly lived the American Dream.

Most importantly, Frank loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart, and he led his family well with dignity, humility, kindness and hard work. He is now safe in the arms of Jesus and reunited with the love of his life, Virginia, undoubtedly jitterbugging on streets of gold wearing one of his iconic hats feeling ?fine as a frog's hair split three ways.??

Steadfast father to Sara McGee Saucier and to John Frederick Saucier, Frank is survived by both, as well as by his beloved granddaughters, Mary Clay (Saucier) Gupton and Allie (Saucier) Schaber, their spouses, and four darling great-grandchildren. The family extends heartfelt thanks to Meredith and Shannon at the VA, the staff of BSA Hospice of Southwest and to precious Keila and Rebecca for their exemplary care and kindness.