Frank Rende

AUGUSTA- On Tuesday morning, May 21, 2024 Frank peacefully left all of his infirmities, aches and pains behind and went to be with the Lord and his beloved Priscilla.
Born in New Rochelle New York on March 14, 1935 to Nicola and Margaret (Ventura) Rende, Frank attended public schools. Missing the polio vaccine by a few months, he contracted the virus which left him with an underdeveloped lower left leg. Foretelling his life to come, it would not slow him down as he ran track in high school. Working as a delivery boy for a local pharmacist, Frank found his passion for chemistry and went on to graduate from Fordham University with a degree in Pharmacy. Shortly after graduating, he and a couple of friends decided to drive to Maine and Florida to take the state's respective pharmacy boards. Passing both meant they could work anywhere in the US. However, fate would intervene as Frank found himself with an offer to go to work for LaVerdiere's Pharmacy, a job he took and where he spent nearly 40 years before retiring. It was another fateful twist that had a coworker introduce him to a beautiful young woman named Priscilla. Courting ensued and marriage arrived on August 12, 1962. Together Frank and Priscilla raised 3 boys, Nathanael, Samuel and Nicholas on Newland Avenue in Augusta.
Franks other passion was aviation, one that led him to build and fly model airplanes, starting at an early age where, much to the chagrin of his mother, he made pin holes and airplane glue spots on her kitchen chair seats. Frank went on to not only fly radio-controlled models but also earn his private pilot's license and amass scores of hours flying out of the Augusta airport. In addition to being a professional pharmacist, Frank was a self taught machinist, working part-time at Palmer Machine Shop. On any given day off that he wasn't flying R/C, he could be found either at Palmer's or by his own lathe in the basement of his home. Later in life when flying became difficult, Frank reignited another old passion, trains. He spent countless hours running his live-steam G-gauge garden trains at various outdoor layouts in southern Maine.
As the years passed, Frank's infirmities caught up with him as he started suffering the effects of what is now known as Post-Polio Syndrome. But life didn't end there as he and Priscilla enjoyed their golden years surrounded by children, grandchildren, greatgrandchildren, and a close circle of friends bound by weekly Bible studies, dominoes, cards and dinners.
Frank is predeceased by his parents and Priscilla, his loving wife of 59 years.
He is survived by his brother Alex of Pennsauken, NJ, sons Nathanael and his wife Suzanne of Boothbay Harbor, Samuel and his wife Miki of Newton, Kansas and Nicholas and his wife Kathryn of Augusta as well as 8 grandchildren – Briiana and husband Erik and 4 great-grandchildren, Margaret, Matthew and wife Rachel and 1.5 great-grandchildren, Grace, Nathaniel, Sean, Christine and Alex.
The family would like to extend sincere and heartfelt thanks to the staff of the Augusta Center for Health and Rehabilitation for the care and compassion they provided to Frank over the last year and a half.
Friends and relatives are invited to visit from 4:00-7:00pm Thursday, June 13th at Knowlton & Hewins Funeral Home, One Church St., Augusta. A memorial mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11:00am on Friday, June 14th at St. Mary Of The Assumption Catholic Church, Western Ave., Augusta. Burial will follow in Holy Family Cemetery on the Townsend Road in Augusta.
Memories, condolences and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of our website at www.khrfuneralhomes.com