Nancy Frank

1938 - 2024

Frank, Nancy
ALBANY - It is with broken hearts that we announce the passing of our mother, Nancy J. Frank, 86, who passed on Friday, November 1, 2024, with her daughter, Karen, at her side.
Nancy was born September 1, 1938, in Saginaw, Michigan, to the late Samuel and Emma (Horn) Herbert. Nancy was a graduate of Arthur Hill High School. Nancy began piano lessons at the age of seven and then added organ lessons at the age of 12 after she was tall enough to reach the pedals. Nancy started playing the organ in church on a regular basis when she was 14 continuing until she graduated from high school and went away to college. She attended Michigan State University, majoring in music. Nancy Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in music from the State University of New York at Albany where her organ composition, "Postlude on Lauda Anima" received a SUNYA Presidential Award.
Nancy has been a resident of the Capital District since 1958. She was well known in our region as an organ recitalist, has presented solo organ recitals at First Presbyterian Church in Albany, St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady, the historic Trinity Church in Newport Rhode Island, and for more than 25 years in the Cathedral of All Saints Sunday afternoon organ concert series. She has performed with Albany Pro Musica, the St. Cecilia Chamber Orchestra, Troy Musical Arts, and the Hudson Valley Choral Society. She taught piano out of her home for many years, and taught at the Albany Academy for Girls for 15 years. She served as staff accompanist at SUNYA for 10 years. Nancy was active in the Monday Musical Club, the Etude Club of Schenectady, the Music Study Club, and the American Guild of Organists, twice serving as Dean of the Eastern New York Chapter. She has also served twice as President of The Monday Musical Club. Nancy retired after 42 years as organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany in 2017.
Nancy loved to laugh, loved to entertain and was known for her annual summer picnics. Nancy and her husband Wes enjoyed travel and went to such places as Mexico, England, Paris and the Czech Republic. Wes and Nancy were avid skiers well into their 60's. For many years Nancy enjoyed nightly phone calls with her two sisters Jan and Sharon, where they laughed, giggled, and kept caught up in each other's lives. These treasured phone calls lasted until the very final days of her life.
Nancy is survived by her husband of 66 years Wesley Frank, her son Kenneth (Laura) Frank, her son John Frank, her daughter Karen Burleski, her beloved grandson Jake Burleski, her sisters Jan Knoper and Sharon Cady, and several nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents Samuel and Emma Herbert, her brother Gerald Herbert, her son-in-law Timothy Burleski, and her brothers-in law Earl Knoper and Roger Cady.
Family and Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service at 2 p.m., on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church of Albany, N.Y. There will be no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.