Frank A. Kester

Frank Andrew Kester May 27, 1938 '"" May 28, 2010 Frank Andrew Kester'""'Andy' to his childhood friends'""was a Western Slope Coloradan with a spirit for adventure, a respect for hard work, and a love of the outdoors. Born in Glenwood Springs and raised in Craig, Colorado, Frank's father, Cliff, ran the Kester Jewelry store, which is still in downtown Craig. His mother, Velma ('Geri') taught accordion lessons. Frank grew up camping, fishing, hunting, skiing, and tobogganing with friends. One friend even managed to get him to go on a rattlesnake hunt. Frank and his parents hiked extensively, including many of the 14ers in Colorado, and Frank and his dad rode in the back of Geri's Willys Jeep while she drove much of the toughest terrain in Colorado (Frank and Cliff were responsible for shifting their weight from side-to-side to keep the Jeep from tipping over). In Junior high, Frank started playing football and basketball, and in high school he took up track, ski racing, and stock car racing. He said that football was easy for him because 'if you hit the other guy faster, lower, and harder than he hit you, everything would be OK.' He was one of the fastest sprint runners on the track team, but he had to stop when he injured his knee trying to do the broad jump without any practice. Frank was a creative problem solver. At age 18 he enlarged his parent's basement, which was built into a rock hill, using dynamite'""it worked well for the basement, but not so well for the windows upstairs. His broadcasting career began when he and a friend decided to be sports announcers for the home basketball games. After being voted most likely to succeed at high school graduation, Frank attended the University of Colorado for one year. He didn't take his first year of college too seriously and, with a little push from his parents, transferred to study engineering at Wentworth Military Academy. Frank received his pilot's license and an Associate's Degree from Wentworth and went on to the University of Wyoming to continue studying engineering and participate in the ROTC program. At the age of 22, Frank had a terrible car accident on Rabbit Ears Pass, which he was lucky to survive. He went home to Craig to recover, and decided to join the Colorado National Guard. After receiving his FCC License, Frank went to work for KRAI radio. Before long, he moved to Denver to work for the PBS station, Channel 6, where he stayed for 10 years. He met his wife, Jan, at a square dancing class, and they went on to have three great kids, Michael, Katie and Karen. Frank was always a small-town boy at heart, so he left his job at Channel 6 to move his family to Cortez and opened a Coast to Coast Hardware store when Michael was three and Katie was one. The family lived in a house on 130 acres, where they periodically had to chase cows out of the yard. They loved the small town life. Frank was active in the chamber of commerce, where he was the enthusiasm behind all kinds of parades and community events, and made sure there was always plenty of food. Frank and Janet continued square dancing, and they loved to camp, sitting by the campfire with the children roasting marshmallows under a clear summer sky. They ran the hardware store successfully until Kmart came to town at which point they headed back to Denver. Frank took great pride in his work as a television engineer and had an extensive career which included working for both the ABC and NBC stations in Denver and as the Chief Television Engineer for Coors. He started his own video production company, K&A Productions, and then worked for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center as an Electronic Engineer until he retired. His most meaningful projects however, were videotaping his kid's activities such as school plays, band concerts, and friend's weddings. More than any other way of expressing his love, Frank loved to make sure that everyone was well fed. It was no surprise when, after retiring, he decided to start a food business. The 'Wild West Grill' was quite an adventure and he had fun experimenting with new foods. During the years, Jan and Frank were very involved in the church and taught adult Sunday School Classes for years. Most recently they started the Peace and Justice Team at Columbine United church. Frank's family has joyfully expanded over the years. His son, Michael, married Mary Foley and they have two children, Henry (3 é½) and Liam (15 months). His oldest daughter, Katie, and her husband Rob VanGuilder have two children, Bryson (2 é½) and Marissa (8 months). His youngest daughter, Karen, has been happily dating Jason Fitzgerald for 6 years. In October of 2006, Frank had his stroke. Instead of working for a company or running a business, his fulltime job became loving his family and coping with Central (Thalamic) Pain Syndrome, a result of his stroke. He lived valiantly. And on May 28th, he passed away knowing he was deeply loved by family and friends.