CHERRYFIELD – Frank Harold Farren Jr., 75, beloved husband of Paula (Fickett) Farren, and son of the late Frank Harold and Marie (Davis) Farren Leighton, died Tuesday, May 17, 2011, at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth.
Frank attended local schools and graduated from Cherryfield Academy, Class of 1953, where he lettered in basketball and baseball. He took courses through the University of Maine at Augusta. He married Paula Fickett June 16, 1955. He served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960 at Fort Hood, Texas, and in Germany. Frank worked in the woods, drove truck, sold cars and was a bookkeeper for H.G. Tucker & Son. He worked for the Department of Conservation in Augusta from 1970 to 1986 and began the snowmobiling program for the state of Maine. He was elected to the Maine State House of Representatives in 1986 and served until 1994. In his time at home he worked for Jasper Wyman & Son supervising the migratory housing in Deblois. He retired in 1998. In 1997 he was inducted into the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame in Minnesota. He was a “workaholic” and enjoyed the out-of-doors, snowmobiling, fishing and golf. In the 1960s he was a basketball referee and played “town team” baseball and basketball. He especially loved hunting camp with Gary and Gerald Willey and the time spent with dear friends, Robert and Margaret Yeager, the whole Leighton family, as well as the Ames and Davis families. He was a lifetime member of Maine Snowmobile Association, Narraguagus Snowmobile Club, Pleasant River Fish & Game Club, Franklin Veterans Club, a trustee of Cherryfield Academy and member of First Baptist Church, Cherryfield.
Frank was predeceased by his father, Frank Farren Sr. and stepmother, Vira; his mother, Marie Leighton and stepfather, Reginald Leighton; brother, Richard Leighton; and sister, Jeanne Fulton. In addition to his wife, Paula Farren of Cherryfield, he is survived by a brother, Arthur Leighton and wife, Helen, of Amherst; a sister, June Grant and husband, Donald, of Orono; two aunts, Edith Davis and Adelade Davis of Cherryfield; many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. The family extends a special thanks to the Leroy and Connie Leighton family and Janice and Burleigh Ames for their invaluable assistance this past winter and to Pastor Max and Debbie Merrill.
Visitation will be held noon-1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, with funeral services 1 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Cherryfield. Burial will be at Intervale Cemetery, Cherryfield. Donations may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 515, Cherryfield, ME 04622, Harrington Baptist Church, care of Given Grant, 4 Dorman Road, Harrington, ME 04634 or Narraguagus Snowmobile Club, for the purchase of a new piece of equipment, care of Warren Orcult Sr., P.O. Box 284, Cherryfield, ME 04622. Condolences may be made online at
www.bragdonkelley.com.