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Frank Diersen Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Dec. 5, 2007.

Retired U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Frank J. Diersen passed away Dec. 1, 2007, after a prolonged illness. The son of the late Frank M. and Gertrude D. Diersen, he was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1932 and enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1951. After serving as an electronics technician for three years, Frank received his commission as an ensign through Officer Candidate School in 1954. Frank was designated a naval aviator upon graduation from Navy flight training in 1955, and served as an aircraft commander in both fixed wing and helicopter aircraft at several Coast Guard air stations along the east coast and in Naples, Italy. He was recognized for his performance as aircraft commander in search and rescue flights and for conducting surveillance flights off the coast of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis. Subsequent tours of duty included deployments to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and duty as commanding officer of the Coast Guard Marine Inspection Office in Philadelphia. Frank and his wife Margaret retired to Chesapeake in 1981 after 30 years of dedicated Coast Guard service. In retirement, Frank formed many lifelong friendships at the Elizabeth Manor Golf Club where he served as an active supporter of the annual Eastern Amateur Tournaments and as the club's president in 1987. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 50 years, Margaret Heaphy Diersen of Chesapeake; son, James F. Diersen and his wife Tracey of Virginia Beach; daughter, Deborah Diersen Quigley and her husband U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Kevin Quigley of Chesapeake; and grandchildren, Portia, James and Victoria Diersen and Danielle, Megan and Mark Quigley. Frank is also survived by sisters, Ann Rita Mullins of Cincinnati and Mary Jo Schneider of Vero Beach, Fla.; and brother, Martin Diersen of Cincinnati. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in Loving Funeral Home, Churchland Chapel, with interment immediately following in Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery, Suffolk. The family will receive visitors in Loving Funeral Home, 3225 Academy Ave., Portsmouth, between 5 and 7 p.m. Thursday. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society in memory of Frank Diersen. Condolences may be made at www.lovingfuneralhome.com.

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