Leslie William Franke

Leslie William Franke, age 68, passed away on Monday, July 16, 2018 surrounded by his family. A loving husband, father, and grandfather, he was born in Cadillac, Michigan on August 26, 1949. Leslie grew up working with his father in the family owned septic tank/gravel business and started running the gravel pit at the age of 14. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Leslie was a long-time resident of Suffield Township, Ohio and was a retired engineer from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company with 45 years of service. A devoted follower of Jesus Christ and a faithful member of the Akron First Seventh-day Adventist church, Leslie devoted countless hours of service and leadership to his church and community. For 41 years he loved volunteering his time with the Pathfinders youth organization. Leslie loved traveling with his loving wife to numerous places around the world. Some of his favorites included the Panama Canal and the Great Wall of China. He enjoyed camping, taking pictures of sunsets, spending time with family, and teaching his grandsons the finer points of engineering. Knowledgeable in many areas, he loved using his collection of tools to work on projects and was always happy to share his tools and expertise with family and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Leslie Olson Franke. He is survived by his wife, Betty L. Franke; son, Leslie J (Karen) Franke; daughter, Ruthie Franke; daughter, Tamara (Seth) Hartline; grandsons, Jaden Franke, Jordan Franke, and Levi Hartline; mother, Virginia Salisbury; step-father, Keith Salisbury; brother, Terry Franke; sister, Susan (Godwin) Bendrat. He will be deeply missed by many other family members and friends. Visitation will be on Thursday, July 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hopkins Lawver Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held on Friday, July 20 at Hopkins Lawver at 1 p.m. followed by burial at the Hillside West Cemetery in Randolph, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Ohio Conference Pathfinders (1251 E Dorothy Ln, Dayton, OH 45419) or Habitat for Humanity of Summit County (2301 Romig Road, Akron, OH 44320).