Obituary of Frank H. Maskiell
Frank H. Maskiell died peacefully at age 96, having received wonderful care at the Friendly Home in Rochester, NY. He is predeceased by his parents, Frank Maskiell and Vivian J. Maskiell, his aunt, Henrietta M. Johnson, and his wife of 62 years, Minnie Lee Maskiell (Parson). He is also predeceased by his grandson, Scott Maskiell. He is survived by 3 sons, F. Harold (Gail Magnuson) of Ponce Inlet, FL, William Ralph (Linda) of Batavia, Oh, and Charles David (Anne Sergent) of Rochester, NY, additionally multiple grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren.
Born on March 4, 1923 in Flushing, NY, he spent his youth in Jamestown, NY, raised by his mother and aunt, his father having died of pneumonia prior to his birth. As a young child, he met Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone who came to the Tea Room that his aunt operated in the Chatuaqua Institute. He was involved with Boy Scouts as well as loving music (played clarinet, oboe, and briefly English horn). He was proud to have played under the direction of Howard Hanson while being a member of New York State Orchestra while in high school. Howard Hanson was the dean of Eastman School of Music for 40 years, being a major influence of the Rochester music community. Frank attended college at Carnegie Tech where he played for the band and orchestra while studying Electrical Engineering.
His college years were interrupted by military service, stationed at Camp Crowder in Neosho, MO, where he met Minnie Lee Parson who he married in 1944. He was a Sergeant upon discharge from the Army where he contributed to the Communications Corps. Having a first son in 1945 (Harold), he returned to Carnegie Tech to complete his Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. With a second son in 1948 (Bill) and a third in 1951 (Chuck), he returned to night school in the mid-50’s to learn about computers, becoming a pioneer in computer programming. He worked at the Pennsylvania Transformer in Canonsburg, PA, it later being renamed as McGraw Edison, Power Systems Division. Frank used computers to design transformers and other electronics, ultimately to control production equipment in the factory. It was from this job, he retired. He “pioneered” electronic music. He discovered that the computer he used in the 60’s would produce a tone on his AM radio and with additional trials found certain program operations produced different tones. Computer memory kept on punch cards, he sent boxes of cards with AM radio instructions to his fellow programmers across the country, each set of cards producing Christmas carols.
He loved to work with his hands: woodworking, leatherworking, letterpress printing, metal working, sewing and gardening. None of these, however, compared to his life-long love of puzzles.
He was a faithful member of The First United Methodist Church in Canonsburg, PA where he and Minnie raised their family of 3 boys. When the last son departed to college, they continued to support the needs of youth, Frank involved with Junior Achievement and together they were actively involved with Big Brother/Big Sister. Moving to live in Cocoa Beach, FL in the mid 80’s, they became members of the First United Methodist Church in Cocoa Beach, that membership maintained to the time of their respective deaths. He was active in the operations of the condominium board in Cocoa Beach and both churches. He was an avid choir member in each of the churches with his service spanning greater than 60 years.
He lived a long wonderful life filled with love for others and surrounded by people who loved him wherever he lived, even to his final years in Assisted Living at Glenmere at Cloverwood , and his final months in Skilled Nursing at the Friendly Home in Rochester, NY. Music always being an important part of his life, he loved classical music, especially Tchiakovsky, Beethoven, and symphonies by Howard Hanson. He spent his final years singing to all he encountered, often the song specific to the person being sung to. He was kind and courteous to everyone he met, especially the ladies he dined with at Glenmere at Cloverwood and on Morgan Place at the Friendly Home. His quick wit and gentle spirit were maintained to his final days. He will be missed.
There will be a memorial service later this year in Cocoa Beach, specifics to be determined.
In honor of his life-long passion for music, we request contributions be made to the Howard Hanson Scholarship Fund at the Eastman School of Music in Frank’s name. Please send to:
Eastman School of Music
Attn: Office of Advancement
26 Gibbs Street
Rochester, NY 14604
