Obituary of Francis Sharp

FRANCIS SHARP Francis "Frank" Sharp died on May 11, 2011 from complications following a stroke. He was born in Alexandria, Scotland on October 17, 1920, one of three children of Buchanan and Mary Sharp. His early years were spent mainly in England where his father played soccer over a period of ten years for a number of teams, including Chelsea. Later in 1937, after the family had returned to Scotland, Frank became an apprentice tool and die maker in the Blackburn aircraft factory in Dumbarton, which had been recently erected as part of Britain's rearmament in the face of the threat posed by Hitler's Germany. He spent the war years there helping to produce Sunderland flying boats for the RAF. Early in the war he met the love of his life, Annie Elizabeth "Betty" McFadyen, who predeceased him on May 6, 2007, the day of their sixty fifth wedding anniversary. After the war and the closure of the aircraft factory, Frank moved on to the Royal Navy Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. During his working life in Scotland Frank was a strong supporter of the left wing of the Labor party and an active participant in the Amalgamated Engineers Union. Throughout the rest of his life he remained true to his deeply held radical social and political views. In 1955 Frank and Betty with their only child, Buchanan, emigrated to the U.S. Frank had decided that heavy engineering in the west of Scotland had no future. Many others had concluded the same thing and during the 1950s there was an exodus of a large number of highly skilled workers to the U. S., Canada, and Australia. Frank chose the U. S. mainly because a number of his former colleagues and apprentices had settled there. After a year in New Jersey, Frank and his family moved to Oakland, California where eventually he and two of his former apprentices established a highly successful and lucrative machine shop. Finally, in 2004, Frank and his wife moved to Santa Cruz to be near their son and his family. near their son and his family. Frank was a man of many interests. He was an avid reader and lover of music who was intoxicated by the language of Shakespeare and the wit of Gilbert and Sullivan. A fine athlete, Frank excelled at soccer, cricket, golf, and his favorite, badminton. He was also an avid bird hunter. He learned to use a shotgun in Scotland in the 1930s when money was short during the depression. He and his father would frequently comb the moors for ducks, grouse, pheasants, or rabbits in order to put meat on the table. Since there was no public land in this part of Scotland, their activities were technically poaching. Frank was caught only once by the law and fined five pounds. Later, for more than thirty years, Frank and his son enjoyed duck and pheasant hunting in the Central Valley of California, all in season and all on public land. Finally there were the dogs, five yellow Labradors in succession, all called Robbie. Frank and Betty doted on them. Frank is survived by his son Buchanan and his wife Meg Lilienthal, two grandchildren, Duncan Sharp and Heather Cortez, and their spouses, Renee Sharp and Anthony Cortez, three great grandchildren, Sharar Muir, Graham Sharp, and Gwen Sharp, and Robbie V, all of Santa Cruz. The family wants to thank the staff of Aegis in Aptos and Hospice of Santa Cruz County for the care and comfort they provided Frank during his last days. At Frank's request there will be no memorial service.