Born and raised in Montpelier VT, Frank attended Antioch College, awarded the Purple Heart – wounded three times in WWII, and awarded the Combat Infantry Badge. He earned a PhD in Literature at the University of Oklahoma and taught at the University of Maryland before moving to New Orleans in 1959 to teach at the University of New Orleans, and then at Loyola and Southern Universities.

Known locally and nationally as an American Contract Bridge League Life Master, he had a lifelong passion for jazz music, which first attracted him to New Orleans, where, over the years, he became well known among fellow music lovers frequenting the city’s traditional jazz clubs.