Harriette Frances Beatrice (Larsen) Frank died on Saturday, March 19, 2016, held tenderly by her sons, and surrounded by her loving family.  She was born on August 20, 1916, near Concrete, Washington.  She was the granddaughter of Peter and Kristina Larsen, part of the early Skagit pioneers and homesteaders, and the daughter of Marius and Vera Larsen.  The mighty Skagit River was her home and playground as a child.  She was born in a tent on its banks, because her family home was being built, and learned to swim in its waters at an early age.  Her parents settled in Van Horn, just east of Concrete, very near the Larsen family land.  She went to school in Van Horn, a busy little town in those days, and then “crossed the bridge,” to attend high school in Concrete, graduating with the CHS class of 1934.    During high school, she met a little Italian guy named Albert Frank, and the “rest was history!!” she liked to say, when she regaled all of us with the story of their wild and wonderful courtship… always with a huge smile and a twinkle in her eye.  Albert would grin, and never contradicted her in the telling of the tale, because he knew better.  After high school, she went to Everett, Washington to care for the children of a well- known physician.  During that time, she became engaged to a young man of that community.  Well, as the story goes, Albert heard about that situation, became enraged and made a quick trip to Everett to convince her to come home and marry him.  And, she did.

On August 7, 1937, in Mt. Vernon, Washington, with his mother and sister standing by, they were married.  That same afternoon, they came home to Concrete, and Albert went back to work, with a logging company, “the store” was not even thought of at that time.  Harriette liked to joke that they never even had a wedding cake, so at their 65th wedding anniversary, we made sure that they got the works… three tiers of cake, and covered in roses!  They built their own home, next to her parents in Van Horn, on the corner of Moen Road and Highway 20, and lived there their whole married life.  Several years after they were married, their son Richard was born, and Michael followed two years later.

Life was busy, and hard in those days.  Harriette’s father owned a small gas station/store in Van Horn that he needed someone to operate because he did not want to pursue that kind of business.  So, in 1948, Albert and Harriette purchased the store from him, and the saga began.  It goes without saying that Albert had business acumen… he was smart, ambitious, and he never had a “quittin’ time”. So it wasn’t too long before Harriette knew she had competition… if she wanted to spend time with him, she had better help him out at work.  And she did… raising her boys in the back room of the store.  In 1958, they built the store west of the Concrete city limits and operated both stores until 1969, when they sold the Van Horn store.  As things progressed, Michael married and came home to join them in the business.  Richard retired from teaching and followed, with his family, twenty years later.  It became a “family” business once again.  She loved her grandchildren dearly and spoiled them beyond compare.  The great grandchildren were an added delight; still small and tiny, they were convinced she was an “elf!”  She was smart, savvy, and “full of the dickens” and a perfect foil for Albert.  She worked alongside him for all those years, still working into her 90’s, as he did also.  By then, it was their home away from home, and the only place they wanted to be.  Giving in to “the boys” was difficult, and not without some hardship, but slowly, they let them take charge. Everyone knows Albert rarely left town, but she began to give in to her wanderlust and love of travel to journey to many exciting and far off places, which she continued until almost ninety years old.  They still had their responsibilities and were adamant about getting them finished on their own-heaven help anyone that asked if they needed help.  All of the hard work and toil, the late hours, they all took their toll.  But they still came to work every day.  That uncommon work ethic was too deeply ingrained.

We used to tease Richard and Mike about running an unlicensed “rest home” in the office at the store.   It sort of, was… She still read her beloved books before bed at night, and loved her two cats that came to live with them.   Albert passed away in 2007 right before Christmas, and the light went out of her life.  She was never the same.  She was his “one man cheerleader” all those years, with an unflinching loyalty and love for a man she adored and lived with for seventy years, in the little house… on the corner… of Moen Road and Highway 20.

The family wishes to thank Bess and Neil Prather of Cross Creek Adult Home, where Harriette has resided for the past seven years, for their kind care and concern.  Also, our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Lindsay, her favorite caregiver, faithfully standing by with care and love.  No one could have done better.  Becki Hoover was also a blessing to the family for always going down to do her hair and helping her to feel pampered, in her special way.

She is survived by her two sons, Richard (Andrea) Frank, Michael (Vicki) Frank: Six grandchildren: Richard D. Frank, Patrick Olson, Dianne Aamot, Michael W. Frank, Danielle Krieg, and Joseph Frank; 12 great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews she held especially dear:  Betsy, Barb, and Bea, the “Three B’s”, Kathy, Ron, and Randy, and a special little gal that became her employee and then her forever friend, Loralyn Jones.

Harriette was preceded in death by her husband, Albert Frank, parents, Marius and Vera Larsen, her brother Chester Larsen and two sisters, Muriel Dewar and Ellen Spaulding.

A Graveside service will be held at 10:00, Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at the Forest Park Cemetery, Concrete.  A Reception will follow at the Sheperd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 46372 East Main Street, Concrete.  Memorials may be sent to: The Albert and Harriette Frank Memorial Scholarship Fund, PO Box 366 Concrete, WA 98237.