FRANK DUFF MASON

Granite Falls, Wash.

Frank Duff Mason, age 89, of Granite Falls, WA, passed away on July 4, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. at Providence, Colby Hospital, in Everett, of complications from pneumonia and heart failure.

Frank was born on July 24, 1921, in Prosser, WA, to Frank Boyd Mason and Helen Euphemia Huntington. He grew up in the nearby town of Kennewick and graduated from Kennewick High school in 1937, at age 16, where he was valedictorian. He went to Yakima JC, and then to WSU where he earned his BS in physics and mathematics. He then studied Pre-Radar at Bowdoin College in Maine, and Radar at MIT in Boston for his Navy service. In 1944 he served as Navy Physicist on the historic Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, TN, helping to develop the first atomic bomb. During WW2, Frank served on the USS Topeka CL-67, a light cruiser in the Asiatic Pacific, as Radar Maintenance officer, Lt (jg). In July, 1946, he participated in Operation Crossroads as staff officer on the historic nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. He watched as two atomic bombs were detonated, one above ground and one under water.

In 1945, Frank married Gladys Ola McGuire. They had a son, Frank Albert Mason. Frank was honorably discharged from the Navy that same year. He then went to work as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. In 1950, Frank participated in the Korean War as a civilian Operations Analyst for the Air Force. While serving there, he was picked to be on the team that analyzed a captured Russian MiG-21 fighter. After Korea, Frank went to work in the field of rocketry and missile testing in Cape Canaveral, FL (now Cape Kennedy), and then in China Lake, CA.

While in Cape Canaveral, he and a friend invented the sport of carwater skiing: riding skis in the surf while being towed by a car on the beach. Frank then earned an MS in Physics at UC Berkeley CA, and then a PhD in Operations Analysis at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

While at NC State, Frank met his second wife, Mary Dunn Whisnant. They were married in 1960 and settled down in Sherman Oaks, CA, in the Los Angeles area. They had three children: Duff Huntington Mason, Mary Melinda Mason and Robert Bruce Baldwin Mason. Frank went to work at Hughes Aircraft Co. doing Market Research. During his time in Sherman Oaks he also worked at TRW, Pacific Coast Regional (a small business development firm), served in the Naval Reserves and taught Marketing, Statistics and Small Business Administration at Pepperdine University and California State University Northridge (CSUN). He also taught these subjects on trips to the Philippines and Australia.

In 1981, Frank was honorably discharged from the Reserves with the rank of full Commander. In 1989, Frank retired from CSUN and moved back to his home state of WA with his wife, where they purchased a 22-acre farm in the town of Granite Falls, near Everett in Snohomish County. In Granite Falls, Frank was active in local politics, serving on the town planning commission. He also developed Frank Mason Park, a local park on Lake Gardener in Granite Falls.

Frank loved the outdoors. He was an avid camper, fisherman and hunter. He also loved the sea and was an expert sailor. At age 74, he discovered he had artistic talent and became an avid painter. He was also a voracious reader.

Frank is survived by his wife, Mary, his three sons, Frank, Duff and Robert, his daughter Mary, his granddaughter Tracy, his grandsons Nathaniel and Noel, his great-grandson Tyler, his Brother John and his sister Janet.

There will be a memorial service on Tuesday, July 12th, at 4:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church on 2301 Hoyt Ave, Everett, WA 98201. There will be a graveside service on Wednesday, July 13th, at 3:00 p.m.at Riverview Heights Cemetery on 1200 S. Olympia St, Kennewick, WA 99337.