Ray William Frantz Jr.

Ray William Frantz Jr., age 91, died on March 11, 2015 in Harrisonburg, Va where he and his wife resided near their daughter for the past year. He was born on August 17, 1923 in Princeton, Kentucky, the son of Ray William and Marjorie Kevil Frantz.

He was preceded in death by his wife Doris. He is survived by their children Katherine Campbell of Harrisonburg, Va and Paul Frantz of New Orleans, LA, as well as, his grandchildren Sara, Hannah, and Pinki who loved him dearly as he did them.

He was a graduate of the University of Nebraska where he attained a B.A in English. He attended graduate school at the University of Illinois where he earned Master degrees in Library Science and English. He also received a Ph.D in English from the University of Illinois.

He was the past president of the National Association of Research Libraries, Vice President of the 18th Century Short Titled Catalog and past president of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries.

He served as the Head Librarian at the University of Richmond from 1955 to 1960, Assistant Librarian at Ohio State University from 1960 to 1962, Head Librarian of the University of Wyoming from 1962 to 1967, and the Head Librarian at the University of Virginia from 1967 to 1993.

His greatest pleasure was working with faculty and library staff in building the collections which grew to over one million volumes at his retirement.

He enlisted in the United States Army and served with the 89th infantry division in the European theater during World War II.

He was in sports all of his life: track, golf, baseball, climbed briefly in the Tetons, canoed the Snake River, and loved to step into a stream and try to outwit a trout. Reading and music were constant companions. This, and above all, his wife of 64 years Doris, his children and grandchildren made for a happy life.

Friends and family are invited to drop by his daughter Kathie's home from 4:30-6:30pm on Friday March 13th, 2015.

There will be a private family memorial service. In lieu flowers, donations can be made in his memory to The Saint Joseph's Indian School in South Dakota at www.stjo.org.

Lindsey Funeral Home in Harrisonburg is handling arrangements and condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.lindseyharrisonburg.com.