Frank John Schreiber

Frank John Schreiber, 80, of Live Oak, Florida passed away on July 28 at his home surrounded by his loving family. Family and friends describe Frank as a kind and extraordinary human being with incredible compassion towards friends, family and his pets.

However, if you didn't understand Frank's sense of humor, you didn't understand Frank and he would probably have some input for this obituary. In the eighties, our family bought a camper in order to spend some quality time together and create lasting memories for the kids. We took camping trips up the east coast from South Florida to New Jersey to visit extended relatives, or other destinations. We loaded up the van and camper with all the things a family of five "thought" we needed. About two hours into the trip, his three kids would be fighting over something in the back seat and he'd turn to his wife and say, "Are we having fun yet?, a term he often used for any event that just didn't turn out quite as we had planned. He often joked about "the end game" as he called it in his 40s and 50s. He said if he had dementia or was unable to take care of himself, he instructed us to put a sign on his neck "My Name is Frank" and leave him at the airport in a wheelchair. He thought that was really funny and would laugh every time he said it.

Frank was born on November 29, 1942 to Francis and Winifred Schreiber in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Audubon, New Jersey when he was 12 years old where he grew up with his two sisters Winnie and Nancy. After graduating high school, Frank joined the United States Air Force and served as an enlisted member on a Titan ll combat crew in Tucsan, Arizona during the Cold War. A memorable event he often brought up was when he experienced a lock down in the barracks while B-52s took off one after the other during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

After his service, Frank met Carolyn Ward at the Honeydew in New Jersey and he fell in love. The Honeydew meeting was a story that he often retold, sharing details of that night. They were married on September 9, 1967 and were together through all of life’s ups and downs. They celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on October 9th, 2022.

Frank and Carolyn went on to have three children, John , Stacey, and James. Frank was a devoted father, and husband. He supported us all throughout the many accomplishments and difficulties of our lives.

Frank spent three years working toward a bachelor’s degree at Rutgers University and was on the Dean’s list, but ultimately, in order to support his new family, he left college to attend technical school and became a technician for AT&T. In 1978, Frank volunteered for a lateral transfer with AT&T to Miami, Florida to move his family to a warmer climate thus becoming a Florida snowbird for 46 years. Frank and Carolyn bought a house in Hollywood, Florida where they raised their three children. Frank went on to become a National service manager for AT&T.

Frank loved the time he spent with his family, creating an abundance of memories. There are memories of trips to the beach, camping adventures, flying kites at the local school, cub scout activities, competitively racing remote controlled cars, and bass and mullet fishing with bamboo fishing poles. He enjoyed playing catch in front of the house with his daughter Stacey and served as an assistant coach for his son Jim’s soccer games. He was very involved with John’s passion for playing bluegrass music and continued to make lasting memories with his grandchildren by taking his grandson Jesse to T-ball games and teaching his granddaughter Jamie how to ride a bike. These precious moments with his family are just a glimpse of the love and happiness he cherished with them.

In 1996 Frank and Carolyn moved once again to Live Oak, Florida and bought a small house on 9 acres to help raise their grandchildren Jamie and Jesse. Frank was a lover of nature and animals. We often referred to him as the Pied Piper, since any animal in the household automatically gravitated to him and eventually became "his" pet. He had many pets throughout his life and after retiring from AT&T Frank was able to spend many hours among the small bird community he cultivated in his yard with well placed bird feeders and baths. Frank loved to sit on the porch and watch the families of birds who made their homes among the trees close by. Frank befriended a stray cat named Sammy who wanted nothing to do with any other human but absolutely bonded with Frank. They had a unique relationship which is a testament to Frank's caring and compassionate nature. Frank's interests in nature did not stop at the animals he cared for, he also took classes to become a master gardener through a UF extension program and began gardening at his country home.

Frank is survived by his wife Carolyn Schreiber, his children, John Schreiber, Stacey Daniels and James Schreiber, and his grandchildren Jamie and Jesse Krasnow.

Frank was a loving, empathetic and caring person. He was loved by many and will be sorely missed.

Crevasse's Simple Cremation is honored to serve the Schreiber Family.