Frank W. Barndollar, 87, a longtime newsman and former managing editor of The Sentinel in Keene, NH, died Monday, July 11, 2011, at Langdon Place of Keene. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for the past several years.
He was born and raised in Manchester, NH, the son of a rural mail carrier and a teacher, Paul and Eva Barndollar.
He served with the U.S. Army during World War II where he attained the rank of corporal. He was part of the 12th Armored Division (also known as the “Mystery Division”, responsible for liberating 10 concentration camps), 56th Division. After the war, he graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where he earned four varsity letters in track. He also did his graduate work at UNH.
Mr. Barndollar began his newspaper career while still a college student. He was the college correspondent for the Union Leader and The Sunday News, where he mostly covered sports. After graduation, he moved to Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover as sports editor. Three years later he became the sports editor for the Wilmington Morning Star, where he covered sporting events for the Big Four of the Atlantic Coast Conference (Duke, UNC, NC State and Wake Forest), semi-pro baseball, the Azalea Open, the Orange Bowl, and the ascent of Wake Forest student Arnold Palmer as he began his pro-golf career.
In 1959, Mr. Barndollar was hired as a general news editor at the Keene Evening Sentinel, and two years later became managing editor, a position he held until 1982, when he became responsible for developing the newspaper’s Observer magazine, and oversaw the fourteen special interest publications published by The Sentinel. He contributed a weekly personal column to the Observer until 2005, and often wrote feature stories for publication. He was proud of his selection for two years as a judge for the Pulitzer Prize for Political Cartoons.
In retirement, Mr. Barndollar was the editor of The Hellcat News, a newsletter for the 12th Armored Division Association. He was a unit representative for the association and served on the executive board for several years. In 2002 he was named “Mr. Hellcat,” and he received the Hellcat Medal of Honor for exceptional services to the association. He was named Editor Emeritus of the newsletter in 2006.
Survivors included his daughters, Linda Barndollar and Sherry Barndollar Rock and her husband, Anthony Rock, his son Steven Barndollar and his wife Lynne Juster, and four grandchildren, Katie and David Rock and Hadley and Justine Barndollar. His wife of 58 years, Rita Kelley Barndollar died in 2005, and his daughter, Heidi Jo Barndollar died in 2000.
A celebration of his life will be held Wednesday evening, July 13, 2011 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the Stonewall Farm, 243 Chesterfield Road, Keene, NH. Family and friends are welcome.
The family requests that those wishing to make a memorial contribution consider Hospice at HCS, P.O. Box 564, Keene, NH 03431, or the Alzheimer's Association, Five Bedford Farms Drive, Suite 201, Bedford, NH 03110.
The Foley Funeral Home, 49 Court Street, Keene, NH is assisting the family with the arrangements.
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