William "Woody" Frank

William Henry Frank “Woody” of Delanson, NY passed away unexpectedly in Florida on Tuesday December 16th, 2025, with his loving and devoted wife of 50 years and two grown children at his side. Born on February 21,1950 in Schenectady NY, he was the eldest of the three children from his late parents William H. Frank Jr. and Wanda Mazurowski Frank. Raised in Delanson, Woody enjoyed the simplicity of small-town life, graduating from Duanesburg High School in 1968 and only venturing as far as Utica College for higher education, where he met Martha. Woody was a caring and loving husband to Martha Frank, a proud father to his children Amy Frank and Andrew Frank and a doting grandfather to his three grandchildren, Henry, Sofia and Tomas. Woody was a proud electrician and member of the IBEW, extending his skillset to his family’s home and the homes of his children as they grew to home ownership. He was always willing to drop everything and go to help anyone with whatever project they were working on, whether that meant spending weeks in South Boston to help Andrew with his renovation projects or trips to help Amy put up her Christmas tree or let her dog out. Woody’s love for and partnership with Martha leaves a remarkable and lasting imprint on their life together. He believed in and supported her vision to start a woman-owned special education preschool in 1987, a time where this was uncommon and narrowly supported in general, and has seen this through as a supportive husband and the agency’s facilities manager through the business’s 38th year. Many of the children at the preschool remember his visits to the classrooms and tractor rides on special occasions.

Woody proudly spoke about and adored his three grandchildren: 10-year-old Henry James (Amy) of Ballston Spa; and 5-year-old Sofia Elena and 3-year-old Tomas William (Andrew & Valeria) of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Woody’s two grandsons are his namesakes: Amy eagerly used Woody’s middle name (Henry) as her son’s first name and Andrew proudly used Woody’s given name (William) as his son’s middle name. Woody’s next loves were his family’s long lineage of dogs, many of whom adopted parts of Woody’s dynamic and quirky personality that was so loved by anyone who was lucky enough to know him. He passionately believed that dogs are family members and he had a unique talent of creating his own special bonds that personified each dog. He has bestowed this upon not only his children, but also his grandchildren. Woody was a lover of baseball, enduring the decades-long whiplash of being a New York Mets fan. He traveled many times to games with fellow [tortured] Mets fan Hugh Casper, sometimes with both families going together for the shared thrill of watching a live game. His love of baseball was passed along to Andrew from his service as one of his coaches during Andrew’s little league years, as a board member for the Duanesburg Little League, and attending Mets games with him. Amy developed a love for playing softball, committing to the sport up through her 30’s in adult leagues and is an active supporter of the Amsterdam Youth Baseball league. Martha shared Woody’s love for baseball watching both Amy and Andrew play the sport through their high school years and it has extended to agency sponsorship within the Amsterdam Youth Baseball league. Woody loved watching his grandson Henry play in little league and enjoyed playing catch with him. He also thoroughly relished the opportunity to see this love grow into Sofi and Tomi along with the wild and curious, yet intelligent nature that he vividly recalled from Andrew’s childhood. Perhaps his greatest joy was Sofi’s and Tomi’s visit this past summer to the Lost Valley Camp he worked so hard to create for his family to enjoy. Seeing in real time that he’s passed on his own lived experience gave him great joy. He loved that he could see through their eyes the wonder and joy in the place that meant so much to him. He especially loved the fort his three grandchildren built with their beloved cousins Jace and Makenna, recalling the forts built during his own childhood at Lost Valley.

Woody’s socialite personality exemplified the idea that time is an asset when people are involved. He instilled in his children his desire to keep as many things as possible enjoyably simple and close to the heart, and that honesty and integrity are necessities in life. Since he never bought into the internet and social media, being loyal to time as an unbridled moment to moment virtue was something he easily remained connected to--something we could all use more of. Woody was always well informed about the goings-on in the community and frequently found time (or time found him!) to get updates about the people in his and his family’s lives, often reporting back to Martha, Amy, or Andrew any new information. Woody cared deeply for the employees at Whispering Pines, routinely making time each day to chat or joke around to evoke the smiles and joy he so easily brought out of people, especially those who have been longtime employees.

Woody’s love and appreciation for nature and the outdoors meant that he was more often than not on a tractor, lawn mower, or could be found sitting outside in a chair or under a tree “resting his eyes”. He loved creating trails and exploring outdoors, and just when you thought you couldn’t enjoy the beauty of nature more than you already did, he was gifted with his ability to cultivate landscapes from ordinary to extraordinary. The family property on the Schoharie Creek, aka “Lost Valley”, was undoubtedly what he appreciated and loved most aside from his family. On that land, he poured himself into rebuilding a camp house and the surrounding area for his family to enjoy. Not only did he want to share the serenity and calm of the outdoors with his family, he wanted most for the magic of this particular area that he so deeply appreciated and loved his whole life to be passed on to the people he loved most, in the most beautiful way possible. Woody’s spirit and legacy will always remain as part of Lost Valley.

Woody is survived by his sisters Kathleen “Kasie” Mackey and Christine “Kiki” Petosa, sister-in-law Susan Beckman (Keith) and many nieces and nephews (Laura, Bill, Brian, Kerri, Lori, Joel, Carla, Jonathan, Kallie, Bob, Jim), his Aunt Marilyn Marcil and cousins (Steve, Paul, Linda, John, Lynn, Bill, Danny and Holly). Woody leaves behind his ongoing get-togethers with his best friend from college Louie Baskinger and the camaraderie of his longtime friend and high school classmate Tom Spoor. Woody also loved connecting with his Lost Valley neighbor and friend Lloyd. Together they marveled at the beauty of the land – he always looked forward to their paths crossing when working at camp. Lastly, but certainly not least, several longstanding and special friendships amongst the Whispering Pines Preschool staff were cherished, immensely.

We would like to extend heartfelt appreciation to the Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale Florida and Dr. Goldberg, Dr. Agner, and ICU nurses Constance, Massiel & Elise for the dedicated, compassionate and comprehensive care that was provided to Woody and extended to us as a family during his time at the hospital.

If there was the opportunity, Woody certainly would have expressed tremendous gratitude for the generous and selfless gift of time that Dr. Hector DiCarlo gave to him and our family out of the goodness of his heart during his hospitalization in Florida.

Calling hours will be from 5:00-7:00 pm on Monday January 5th at the White-Vanburen Funeral home in Delanson. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday January 6th at 11:00 am at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Delanson. Burial will be in the spring in the Grove Cemetery in Delanson, NY.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mr. Moe Project in Clifton Park, NY. This charity is significant because of Woody’s love for dogs and how they’re cared for, loved and deserving of appreciation in their short lives with us as their humans. The founder is a former student of Martha’s from Russell Sage College in Troy.