Denis Franklin
Denis Hubert Franklin was born October 20, 1934, in Passaic NJ, the oldest son of Evelyn (nee Larlham) and Hubert J. Franklin. He was soon joined by brothers Richard (b. 1939) and Lee (b. 1940 d. 2022).
Denis (pronounced “Denny” because his mother was reading a French novel while pregnant) and his brothers grew up in Rutherford NJ and Greenwood Lake NY among cousins, aunts and uncles. At the age of 16 he went to University of Chicago where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. First pursuing law school (his father’s choice) and then medical school (his choice) he found himself between schools and lacking student status was drafted and serving in the US Army in Germany during the Cold War (1958-1960). His primary duty was as a journalist for the Stars & Stripes newspaper. He met and married Anna Ruth (nee Ruetting) in Chicago, and their oldest daughter Janet was born in Frankfurt Germany. Scott was born two years later when Denis was at Hahnemann medical school in Philadelphia. Wooed by little brother Lee who was in the Coast Guard and stationed in San Francisco, the family was persuaded to head West to The City by the Bay in 1964 where Denis did his residency at St. Mary’s Hospital. Lisa and Bruce were born in San Francisco in 1965 and 1967 and the family moved to the suburb of Millbrae in 1969.
Denis worked the long hours expected of doctors, but family time featured California camping, fishing and boating adventures in a VW camper ranging from Samuel P. Taylor State Park to Lake Pillsbury, Yosemite and Lake Shasta. These were affordable family vacations, which were also unforgettable; and instilled in each of his children a love of outdoors skills – involving pocketknives and fishing rods, boats, target shooting, and the spectacular California landscapes. Denis took the responsibilities of being a dad very seriously and valued his family above all else to his last breath.
Denis loved being a doctor, but the profession went through a lot of changes during his career. He worked in one medical practice, then had his own, then worked as a Flight Surgeon for United Airlines, and late in his career retooled as a psychiatrist and did a harrowing stint at the State psychiatric hospital. In the early 80’s, he volunteered as Ship’s Surgeon for the Cal Maritime Academy when Scott was a midshipman there. After retiring, Denis moved from the Bay Area to Mesa, AZ and Kirkland, WA (snowbirding) in 2009 and then to Santa Barbara, CA (in 2017) to be near his kids and grandkids.
Denis was as devoted to his avocations as too his vocation. His children recall helping sort color coded transistors in his early ‘ham’ radio days when he built Heath-Kit radios in the 1960s-70s. His commitment to ham radio lasted the rest of his life, wherever he moved, earned him three call signs, and he did his morning check in with his ham group in Santa Barbara two days before he passed away.
He loved science and built telescopes during the amateur astronomy phase. He loved boats and ships, having learned to sail in summer camp and worked as a ship’s steward and elevator operator on a transatlantic ocean liner in summers when he was in college. He had a sailboat in San Francisco, and later lived on his 56-foot schooner RODUESE after he was divorced, and his kids were launched. He learned scuba diving, and when he retired in the 2000’s he volunteered on several oceanographic research expeditions including along the coast of Oregon, to Papua New Guinea, and even to Antarctica! Denis also was a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with Alameda County for five years – serving as the Radio Officer on a 45-foot harbor patrol vessel.
Denis was a musician with a lifelong passion and talent for singing harmony and playing guitar, harmonica, piano… He was a long-time member of the San Francisco Folk Music Club and found amateur Irish music groups in his new communities in Arizona and Santa Barbara. He also danced, contra dancing, for as long as his knees could take it. An important aspect of his hobbies was the friendships and communities he participated in. He loved people and was a good friend to many.
Denis died September 22, 2024, in Santa Barbara CA, four weeks shy of his 90th birthday, surrounded by family who sang him sea shanties for his passage. He is survived by his brother Richard, sister-in-law Marijo, four children — Janet, Scott, Lisa and Bruce, five grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
God speed to the farther shore with fair winds and following seas. Our patriarch has passed the torch. His radio key and his piano keys are silent. He will be missed but he lives on in our hearts, and his legacy of love, laughter, music, science, exploration, and service continues through his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.