Francis Marshall Larkin

1942 - 2020

Francis (Fran) Marshall Larkin

Conklin - Francis (Fran) Marshall Larkin, 77, of Conklin, NY passed away on May 31, 2020. He was born in Binghamton on September 25, 1942 to Francis and Elizabeth Larkin (English). He spent most of his early childhood years on his family's farm in Conklin, NY where many of his most fond memories were made. Fran attended Binghamton Central High School, and went on to attend Hiram College in Ohio, where he pursued his love of competitive swimming. During the summers he worked as lifeguard at Chenango Valley State Park, a job that provided numerous lively stories for years to come. While life guarding at the State Park Fran met his wife of 54 years, Judith Marie (Hobert). Fran's greatest passion in life was his family, especially his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Kissane (Larkin). Fran supported his daughter in everything she did. He was present for every school and extracurricular activity, but also coached her throughout her high school years, in the sport they both loved, swimming. The only thing he loved as much as his daughter, were his three granddaughters, or as he referred to them, his "three cuties". The love of his granddaughters was equal in return, as simply seeing "papa" in a video chat would cause screams of excitement from all three girls. Fran also loved building and racing cars. Fran and Judie spent most of their early marriage traveling as Fran worked on race teams at some of highest levels in the car racing world, including the Trans-Am Series. During this time, he was a part of Newman Sharp Racing where he worked alongside Paul Newman and Walter Payton. Upon retiring from his racing career, Fran went back to school to earn a degree from Broome Community College for electrical engineering and he used his degree working for Universal Instruments in Kirkwood NY. Fran is predeceased by both of his parents. He is survived by his wife; daughter; son-in-law, Michael Kissane; granddaughters, Ava, Madalena, and Domenica; brother and sister-in-law Christopher and Donna Larkin; sister, Ellen Larkin; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins, all whom he loved dearly and had many fond stories of. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date, when family and friends can safely be together. Arrangements made by MIKESKA FUNERAL HOME, 161 Clinton Street Binghamton, New York.