Fran grew up in Detroit and was a 1942 graduate of Olivet College. He married Elizabeth Pettitt in 1942. Fran served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II as a flight instructor. He earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Wayne State University. Fran was a high school teacher of Economics and Social Studies. He served in several Commissions and Boards in Northville, Michigan, where he lived starting in 1950. Fran was a charter member of the Northville Historical Society, serving as its president ten times. He helped in the initial creation and restoration of the Mill Race Historical Village in 1972, and was active in its preservation over the intervening years. He wrote numerous articles and columns about the Village and Northville History. His body was donated to Wayne State University.¹