Donald Christian Frokjer

Long-time Thousand Oaks resident Donald C. Frokjer died November 15, 2024. He was born on the family farm in Nashua, Minnesota on October 8, 1925 to Chris and Bertha Frokjer. He was baptized and later confirmed at nearby St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

During his nearly 100 years of life, Dad witnessed incredible change. His earliest memory was the day the farm got electricity when he was five. He told stories of harvesting grain with teams of horses, putting items in the cooler – a natural spring outside the house, and using a sleigh to drive to the train station when the roads were buried in snow.

Dad attended nearby Tintah High School where he played football and basketball, and graduated as valedictorian. Working on the family farm kept him out of World War II and delayed college. So many GIs were attending college after the war that Dad spent the first semester bunking in the college gymnasium for lack of housing.

Dad graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN with a degree in chemistry and minors in math and physics and earned a masters degree in bio-organic chemistry from North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. While working as a research and development chemist in Charleston, WV, he was drafted into the Army Chemical Corps as a lieutenant along with the rest of his work team at FMC.

Dad met Lucy Anne Young at a gathering of The Forum, a young adult group through the United Methodist Church in Charleston. After a short courtship, Dad was offered a job in California and asked Mom to marry him. They were married on August 24, 1956 at Clendenin Methodist Church and their honeymoon was the drive west to Pasadena, California.

Dad worked as a chemist at Olin Mathieson and then Consolidated Electrodynamics. Dad and Mom bought a house in Arcadia and started a family, first Eric, then Ruth Anne and then Andy. They joined Faith Lutheran Church in Pasadena and later Our Savior Lutheran Church in Arcadia, and Dad served as Sunday school superintendent, elder and church treasurer over the years.

Dad loved to fish and took many weekend trips with buddy John Kassenbrock. He also enjoyed camping and took us on adventures to Victoria, Canada (with stops at Ocean Dunes, Sea Lion Caves and Crater Lake), Yellowstone and to Minnesota (with stops at Mt. Rushmore and the Corn Palace).

We moved to Thousand Oaks in 1968, joining Redeemer Lutheran Church where Dad served faithfully in many roles from usher and teller to elder and Director of Christian Education. Always hard workers, Mom and Dad transformed an unfenced weedy lot into a beautifully landscaped yard with an orchard, garden, flower beds and a big lawn.

Providing for his family was always important to Dad and he endured long commutes and a series of jobs, including doing taxes and selling real estate. With a desire to control his own destiny, Dad bought a Sir Speedy Printing franchise in Canoga Park in 1981, counting Sparrow Records and Frank Sinatra’s publicist among his many customers. He enjoyed his membership in the Kiwanis Club of Canoga Park, serving as club secretary and president and being honored as Kiwanian of the Year.

Dad served on the Conejo Oaks Homeowners Association board and as a committee member and leader for Eric and Andy’s YMCA Indian Guides, Cub Scouts and Boy Scout Troop 732.

Dad finally sold the business and retired in 1998. After retirement, Dad and Mom had many long adventures in their fifth-wheel trailer - twice to Alaska, down Baja California to Cabo San Lucas, across Canada for the fall colors, and across the U.S., stopping along the way to visit family and friends. In between, there were fishing trips to Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake. Later, there were cruises to Australia and New Zealand and to Western Europe and trips to Hawaii.

Dad was an expert card player (especially bridge and pinochle), an avid Laker fan and dedicated reader of the Los Angeles Times and Ventura County Star. He loved Mom and he loved God.

Don is survived by his sons Eric and Andy; grandchildren Anneke, Matthew, Katie and Andrew Moersdorf and Rick and Jacob Garcia; and great grandchildren Miranda, Mia and Ricky Garcia. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews Kristi Woodham, Dave Woodham, Kurt Woodham, H.G. Young III, Carol Hill and Mary Jo Panaro and their families; goddaughters Christie Timm and Kathy (Kassenbrock) Koford; godson Dennis Sheppard; and his many cousins including Evert and Ron Cooper and their families. He is preceded in death by his parents, beloved wife Lucy, daughter Ruth Anne and sister Connie.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank.