FRANK BIRKHEAD

FRANK BIRKHEAD
PHARR - Frank Birkhead, 76, died of lung cancer Tuesday, March 21, at his home in Pharr. He was McAllen's first industrial developer. He spent his adult lifetime in industrial and economic development, retiring as a city official in 1992.
Birkhead, a native of Carthage, Missouri and a graduate of Baylor University, lived in McAllen 46 years, moving in 2007 with his wife Elaine to nearby Pharr to be a resident of the Southgate gated retirement community. Frank was married first to the former Janet West, now of Houston. In 1996, Birkhead married the former Elaine Black of Corpus Christi, also a retired economic developer for the city of Corpus Christi.
Frank began his career in Chamber of Commerce management following college graduation. Wade Terrell and Bill Schupp hired Birkhead. Frank was founding executive vice president of the McAllen Industrial Board, what it is now called the McAllen Economic Development Corp. Birkhead was one of the founders of McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone, becoming its first executive vice president. His service as a city official spanned 26 years.
Memberships included McAllen's First United Methodist Church, Phi Delta Theta national collegiate fraternity and the Texas Jazz Festival Society, of which he was a vice president and operations manager. As a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), he was a longtime Valley chapter and state officer.
Awards included the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones for outstanding service; Texas A&M University's Economic Development Course, where he taught for 12 years; and the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives Association. He was designated as a Certified Economic Developer and most recently inducted to the Rio Grande Valley Walk of Fame. Birkhead received awards from the University of Texas-Pan American and from the Cisco (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department, the City of McAllen, and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce (2006 Volunteer of the Year) and, most recently, designated historian for the Chamber's Anniversary book, McAllen, The First 100 Years).
Former statewide affiliations include being chairman and a Lifetime Member of the Texas Economic Development Council, which is the state's association of professional economic developers.
At the regional level, he was state director of Southern Economic Development Council. At the national level, Birkhead was chairman of the board of the International Economic Development Council and both a Fellow Member and Honorary Life Member of IEDC. Locally, Frank was a longtime chairman of the City of McAllen's Traffic Commission.
Frank enjoyed upward of 26 hobbies including raising Purple Martin birds and tortoises, maps, genealogy, reunion organizing, severe-storm watcher, jazz, railroad fan and serving as chairman of his neighborhood crime-watch group.
The Birkhead family extends heartfelt thanks to the professionals at Allstate Hospice, Verge Home Care, and Valley Therapeutics for the compassion and dedicated care they provided for Frank: Diana, Rose Mary, Pamela, Eric, Rick, and Andre. "We are forever grateful. God bless you."
Survivors include wife Elaine Birkhead of Pharr, son Trey Birkhead of Dallas, daughter Kimberly Vrana, her husband Keith, and their children, Blake and Darby of Houston, and Rotary foreign-exchange student Benoit Germain of Montreal, Quebec.
The body is being donated to Baylor's College of Medicine. Kreidler Funeral home is handling funeral arrangements. The memorial service is set for Saturday, March 10, at 11:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, McAllen, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice. kreidlerfuneralhome.com
Sign the guest book at www.themonitor.com/obituaries