Frank Alvin Brock Jr.

Published in Star-Ledger on January 3, 2010

Frank Alvin Brock Jr., 90, died Dec. 22, 2009.

Frank was born March 7, 1919 in Haskell, N.J., and raised in the communities of New Brunswick and Highland Park, N.J. His parents were Frank Alvin Brock, Sr. and Irene Boerckel Brock.

Frank's long life was shaped in part by the struggles, history and events shared by those of his generation. Born the third of five children, he was a gifted athlete mentored and taught by his father whom he called his best friend.

Frank's success in sports led to a full scholarship to Rutgers University, where he was captain of both the basketball and baseball teams. Because of his leadership and accomplishments in sports and scholastics, Frank was selected for Rutgers' prestigious Cap and Skull honor society.

Frank Brock graduated from Rutgers on June 8, 1941. That was also the day he married Katherine Ann Steiner. Their 65 years of marriage began that summer with Frank playing Triple-A professional baseball for the Trenton Senators, part of the N.Y. Giants organization, while he waited for his final orders to report to Fort Dix, N.J.

He entered the Army Air Corps as an enlisted man in August 1941. During his military years, he and Katherine were stationed in Albany, Ga.; Laredo, Texas, and Denver, Colo. First Lieutenant Frank Brock received an honorable discharge in February 1946.

Frank entered a management training program with Public Service Electric & Gas Company, New Jersey's oldest and largest publicly owned utility. While a student, he had been a ditch digger for PSE&G. When Frank retired from the company in 1979, he was a senior executive in charge of industrial relations.

Despite these accomplishments, without hesitation Frank Brock would cite his greatest personal achievement to be his marriage to the love of his life - Katherine. They met Frank's senior year at New Brunswick High School (1936) and were together until Katherine's passing in 2006.

During their marriage they raised their children in the communities of Bound Brook and Glen Ridge, N.J. After Frank retired, they lived in Beach Haven, N.J., and Beaufort, N.C. In 2001 they moved to Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Surviving are sister Eleanor Myers of Knoxville, Tenn.; brother Alvin Brock of Whiting, N.J.; son Frank Brock III of Tarpon Springs, Fla.; daughter Linda Brock of Kaneohe, Hawaii; two grandchildren, Frank Brock IV and Christine Dery of Florida, and two great-grandchildren.

Frank Brock will be missed by many whose lives he touched in different ways. As one close friend noted, Frank was "….easy to know." Perhaps it was a combination of his outgoing personality and genuine interest in people and the world around him that made Frank a truly authentic man.

Frank looked back on his life with few regrets. He said he chose a career in business because he thought that would provide the best financial opportunity for his family. But he would quickly add that he wished he had become a high school history teacher and baseball coach. He enjoyed being around the youthful energy of those many decades younger.

In lieu of flowers, friends and family are asked to make a donation in Frank Brock's name to a charity or organization of choice that supports and provides opportunity for young people.

A service will be held Jan. 13, 2010, at Hawaiian Memorial Park Chapel in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Visitation is at 5 p.m., with a service at 6 p.m. followed by a reception. Casual attire.