William George "Bill" Frame

1940 - 2022

William George "Bill" Frame, 81, of Checotah, passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022 in Muskogee. Funeral services were scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022 at First United Methodist Church of Checotah with Reverend Mark Watson officiating.
Committal Prayers, Military Honors and Interment will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery.
William George Frame, nicknamed "Bill," on Sept. 13, 1940, was born to William Horace and Fannie Frame in Muskogee.
He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers, W.H. "Skeet" Frame and wife Vivian of Checotah; Bob Frame and wife Joan of Checotah; and Norman Frame of Ada.
Bill is survived by his wife, Deborah, his son Jeff and his wife Dana; his daughter, Angie and her husband Brian Eaves; and daughter, Mandy and her husband John Pollard.
He is also survived by five grandchildren: Ethan and Hudson Pollard, Bryce Couch, and Reagan and Erin Frame. Also surviving Bill is his sister-in-law Maryann Frame of Ada.
Bill attended Checotah schools, graduating high school in 1958. He then attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Advertising in January 1963.
Bill completed the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at OU and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant when he graduated in 1963. He served two years of active duty and six years in the ready reserve.
While on active duty he was an infantry officer assigned to work with a special operations group in psychological warfare. Bill was permanently stationed on Okinawa from where he was sent on temporary duty in 1964 to Vietnam as an adviser to the South Vietnamese Army and to work with Special Forces units in classified psychological warfare missions.
Following active duty, he served in a ready reserve unit in Ardmore where he earned the rank of Captain before receiving an honorable discharge.
After military duty, he worked in different positions of management for newspapers including the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat, the Cherokee County Chronicle in Tahlequah, the Cordell Beacon and the Carnegie Herald.
Locally, he worked for the Lake Eufaula World.
He worked at Frame Lumber Co. in Checotah, which his dad established in the early 1940's, as a teenager and for a brief period for a few months in the 1980's while his brother Bob recovered from illness.
In 1993 he began work for the Veterans Administration's Regional Office in Muskogee where he was a Senior Claims Examiner leading a team that paid GI Bill education benefits.
He retired on Dec. 31, 2004.
After retirement he volunteered for one day per week for about 10 years at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee.
After volunteering at the VA hospital, he continued staying busy volunteering with civic groups in Checotah including the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Checotah Literacy Council, the Jim Lucas Library Auxiliary Board, the Checotah Landmark Preservation Society and he served as a member of the board of directors of the Friends of Honey Springs organization.
He also served on the Checotah First United Methodist Church's Mission board. He was an active working member of the Checotah First United Methodist Church, where he served as church publicist and outreach coordinator.
Bill helped raise funds for the Checotah Landmark Preservation Society for support of the Katy Depot, tourist information center and museum.
He also put his journalism education and experience to work. He wrote and submitted many stories to the local newspapers regarding the various local organizations for which he volunteered.
He helped write, edit and proof business biographies and other stories for the Katy's Checotah Historical Highlights, and the Centennial Volume of the Town's History from 1890 – 1990.