Frank Gary Klaschus May 17, 1943 - November 11, 2021

May 17, 1943 – November 11, 2021

Frank Gary Klaschus was born to Frank and Verna Klaschus in Santa Monica, California, on May 17, 1943. A sister, Barbara, and then a second sister, Candace, followed, expanding their family to five. As a young boy, Frank moved with his family to Wisconsin. Living next to his grandparent’s farm, he loved to play in the woods, building forts and creating adventures, always saving time to enjoy a special pie his grandmother would make just for him. He attended a small, rural school before relocating again with his family to Duluth, Minnesota. He spent the rest of his school years there, excelling in his art classes and dreaming of attending art school. Frank graduated from Central High School in 1961. After this, he was restless and decided he wanted to “see the world”. He joined the Navy and instead of seeing the world, he saw Lemoore, California, for all four years of his enlistment! Not satisfied with his lack of travel, Frank took a job repairing helicopters in Vietnam as a civilian.

After his travel experience, Frank worked for Boeing Aircraft in Washington. Frank had a passion for airplanes all his life – building countless models as a kid and obtaining his pilot’s license as an adult, giving him a chance to “see the world” from the sky.

On a visit to his family, located again in California, his sister Candy introduced Frank to a friend of hers. Frank felt Sally Gillispie was the most beautiful woman in the world and chose to shift his life from Washington to be closer to his family in the hopes of winning Sally’s hand in marriage. He was successful! In 1971, Frank and Sally married in Fresno, California.

 As a young couple, Frank and Sally spent countless hours working with horses and enjoying the outdoors, where Frank’s love of art developed into a love of photography as well. Frank and Sally added to their family in 1976 with their daughter, Sarah. By this time, Frank was working for Snider Lumber until the company closed. Frank, always a strong provider for his family, chose a career path in a totally different field. He enrolled in the police academy, becoming the oldest student in his class at 48 years of age. Frank loved his job as a bailiff with the Sheriff’s Department.  Always the jokester, he often playfully threatened to arrest friends or family passing through court security.

When he was 30 years old, Frank gave his life to the Lord, declaring that he could find no true purpose in life and that he knew that God had a better plan for him. Frank raised his family in his love for the Lord as well as dedication to each other.

Frank was overjoyed to add Loren Nield to his family when his daughter married in 1996. He was even more excited to add two grandsons, Max and Pacey, in the years to follow. Frank fiercely loved his family, sharing traditions and cherishing time together. He passed along his love of books and music, as well as his love of art which followed him through his entire life as he often doodled on napkins, post-it notes, envelopes – anything he could get his hands on! Frank was also a lover of knowledge, able to spout off historical facts and figures whenever anyone would listen. You didn’t need the internet – you just asked Frank! He had the ability to weave tall tales to capture the attention of his audience, always enjoying a good punch line at the end of his stories.

Frank retired in 2014 after 22 years of service as a Deputy Sheriff in the County Court Division. He also served for 14 years in ministry as the pastor of Olympic Southern Baptist Church in Modesto. After his retirement from ministry, Frank, along with his family, attended LightHouse Family Church. When asked what advice about life Frank would want others to remember, he replied – “Life is brief. You can take nothing with you, but you can leave an awful lot behind.”

Frank was a loyal, devoted, and loving man who was passionate about Jesus, his family, his job, airplanes and food! His love and devotion lives on through his family and he will be greatly missed. Frank passed away on November 11, 2021, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Frank is survived by Sally, his wife of 50 years, daughter Sarah and husband Loren; grandsons Max and Pacey; and sisters Barbara Roberts and Candy Klaschus.

Memorial contributions may be made to LightHouse Family Church, PO Box 375, Turlock, CA 95381.

A celebration of Frank’s life will be held at 11:00am on Thursday December 2, 2021 at the LightHouse Family Church, 323 West Canal Drive in Turlock.