Frank Velez

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Frank Velez who passed away peacefully on October 28, 2025, at Fort Belvoir, VA at the age of 95.

Frank was born in Brooklyn, NY, and spent his school years at Little Flower School, in Wading River, NY, graduating in 1948.

After graduation, he spent a few years in Manhattan, NY, NY at an arts supply company, playing semi-professional football, skiing and dancing at hot spots to include the Palladium and Roseland Ballrooms. While these challenged Frank for a short time, he yearned for more.

Frank enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1951. He went through Basic Training at Lackland AFB, TX and Technical School in Oklahoma. After which, he was assigned to Far East Headquarters (which became Fifth Air Force Headquarters) in Tokyo, Japan. He fell in love with Japan, its culture, the people and its captivating environment with shrines, temples, great food and excellent skiing areas. And he met and fell in love with a bright and charming beauty: Takako Ote (who became Nancy). They met by chance at the Tokyo Insurance/Diet Building where Frank and Takako worked nearby and he won her over with his smooth dance moves. Winning her hand wasn't easy given the timing (post WWII occupation by American Forces in Japan). Convincing her parents and Air Force leadership proved somewhat difficult, but Frank and Takako overcame the obstacles and married in 1954. Soon after, Frank was assigned to the Pentagon and Frank and Nancy established a home in Arlington. They had son, Vincent, and daughter, Victoria while in Virginia. They then received orders back to Japan. They enjoyed the boon years in post-war Japan, dancing, fancy evenings out and were able to spend time with Nancy's family and in-laws (the Ote, Makino and Umeda families) cementing enduring relationships with them as the American son-in-law, brother-in-law and uncle.

Soon it was time to leave Japan and they received orders to Randolph AFB, TX. Through this move in the early 1960s, Frank transitioned from the Manpower/Personnel career field to a new and emerging career in Data Automation, a cutting-edge career field at the time. Frank began as a programmer but moved to systems analysis. During the family's time in Texas, Frank also supported the local community by serving as a Little League baseball coach and taking the reigns as a Scout Master for the area Boy Scouts. Also, during this time, he dabbled in photography, developing photos/prints, played tennis and handball, continued to ski and discovered a love of sailing.

After five years at Randolph AFB, Frank was sent back to the Pentagon, this time serving as a senior data systems analyst at the Defense Communication Agency (DCA), and the family settled in Waldorf, MD. Frank then retired from the US Air Force in 1971, after 20 years of dedicated service. After leaving the USAF, he earned his associate's degree, worked as a systems analyst for Value Engineering, PG County Government (PRC) and, finally, Blue Cross and Blue Shield in their Federal Management Division. He enjoyed his time with BC/BS, making long lasting friends (Newt Plaisance and Dr Mort Rumberg) and retired from BC/BS and work, in general, in 1995. Frank continued to sail, ski and play tennis during retirement. One of his great joys was buying his sailboat and sailing it on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Also, during his retirement, he gave back to the community by teaching seniors about small computers: how to create and send emails; create graphics; handle photo images; developing word documents; and database development. He taught at PG County Senior Community Center, earning many awards and recognition for his service. He also continued to play tennis well into his late 80s with other senior players, starting as the "young one" until he became one of the "old ones." Frank loved to laugh, tell jokes, read, do crossword puzzles, dance and sing the old standards. He was very proud of his wife, children and grandchildren. Frank and Nancy celebrated 71 years of marriage in October 2025.

Frank is survived by his loving wife, Nancy, son Vincent (wife Chelle), grandsons Daniel and Jason Velez, and daughter Victoria (partner Chris Lynch). He was also a brother to twins Brother John Joachim (Society of St Paul) and Jenny Santana. He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Carmen Velez, his brother Arthur, Jr, and sister, Isabel.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 10:00 at the Fairfax of Belvoir Woods Community Center, 9140 Belvoir Woods Pkwy, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060.