Albert "Ray" Frankson

Ray loved all things Texas A&M and made a point to watch every Aggie football game while bemoaning that his beloved Aggies appeared to be losing. This was how he tricked them into winning on many occasions over the years. He seemed to believe that acknowledging that a glass is half full causes it to evaporate; the trick to making your cup runneth over is insist the cup is bone dry and that everyone should continue adding to the cup until it overflows. This method worked surprisingly well for him.

He was a loving father to his kids and found that grandkids were even more fun and less work than the children he raised himself. He loved building things for fun and kept a workshop full of tools and projects, and for teaching grandchildren how to build important things they would need in life, like birdhouses. He had a sense of humor so dry that on many occasions the people around him found they needed a drink after each joke he told, either of water or something stronger. He also had a peculiar talent for convincing women cool on the idea of marriage that he would be a great catch. This worked on two occasions for him, and he considered himself very lucky in both cases to have won over his heart’s desire.

He was born May 9, 1932 in Jackson County, Texas to William “Bill” Frankson and Edith Loff Frankson.

He attended Texas A&M where he majored in Architectural Construction. In 1955 he was the Commanding Officer of Company A in the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets.

He married his first wife, Ruby Harding, in 1956 and they remained married until her death in 1984. They had 4 children together.

In 1970 we went to work for Dow Chemical and worked there until he retired in 1994. He started out in Civil Design and was a distinguished consultant there by the time he retired. He was a member of the American Concrete Institute and helped write the Code Requirements for Environmental Engineering that are still in use today.

While working at Dow Chemical in Houston, he met his second wife, Carol Creel. They were married in 1990. He gained two additional adult children with this union to add to the four he already had.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents, William “Bill” and Edith Frankson, brother Robert Wayne Frankson, sister Frances Margaret Neitsch, brother Wilbur Rodney Frankson, and by his first wife Ruby Frankson.

Ray is survived by his wife, Carol Frankson. He is survived by his children: daughter Cari Ferber and husband Dave, son Randy Frankson and wife Tabatha, son Russell Frankson and wife Michele, son Brad Creel, daughter Regina Erickson and husband Jeff, and son Ron Frankson. He is also survived by his grandchildren Christine Krob, Andrew Frankson, Carolyn Frankson, Alexis Frankson, Aletha Ferber, Steven Ferber, Daniel Ferber, Carissa Ferber, Damon Cunningham, Eilif Erickson, and Reeve Ferber. He has two great grandchildren, Wayon and Emmalee. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be at Earthman Resthaven Funeral Home in Houston, Texas. The service is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 1 PM, with visitation before the service beginning at 9 AM. Burial will be in Earthman Resthaven Funeral Home and Cemetery following the service.