Being Frank and Winnie By Janice Beetle


DONNA WINNIFRED DEARBORN ’75 remembers the day her father dropped her off at Springfield College in the fall of 1971. She was the oldest of the three Dearborn children, so it was a signif-


icant moment for her father, Frank Dearborn, an alum from 1952, and his wife, Doris. “My dad said, ‘I’ll write to you on Sundays. Will you write to me?’” Donna recalls. “He was such a sincere, really caring person. He genuinely wanted to stay in touch.” Donna did as well, so she readily agreed to write. This new Sunday,


father-daughter routine provided the means for the already-close pair to stay in touch and bond over their shared Springfield College experiences. And their writing tradition became so important to them that they continued it for 32 years— every Sunday—until Frank suffered the second of two strokes, six years before he died at 81 in 2009. The letters they


Frank and Donna Dearborn


wrote, while Donna was earning her bachelor’s degree in


math and environmental science and then long afterward, form the foundation for a book she published in January. Every Sunday: A Father and Daughter’s Enduring Connection (everysunday.net) is a tribute to the father-daughter connection and to Frank himself. Begun while Frank was still alive, and produced over eight years, it


gave Donna a means for grieving the loss of her father and sharing his vitality with the world. It also gave her a means to honor the ties Frank developed in all the communities where he lived, worked, and gave of himself, including the Springfield College community. “Springfield College was the perfect school for both my dad and


me,” Donna says. “We both are/were deeply grateful for our four years there. My father deepened and solidified his values and philosophies at Springfield College, where he honed his skills to serve others through the perfect avenue of community recreation.”


To Be Frank and Earnest


Frank Dearborn was a vivacious and well-respected outdoorsman who dedicated his life to his family and the community and delighted in simple pleasures like exploring wooded trails, running with his daughter, skiing with the family, and socializing in the wider world.


TRIANGLE 1 Vol . 85, No. 2 He grew up in Franklin, N.H.,


and served in the U.S. Navy before he applied and was accepted at American International College in 1948. During an admissions interview at AIC, he described his interests in sports, recre- ation, and coaching and was immediately referred instead to Springfield College, where he earned a bachelor’s in recreation in 1952. Frank was a tenor, active in the College’s


Glee Club. He managed the swim team, served on the yearbook staff and was co-sports editor of the College newspaper, in which he also put his writing talents to work in a sports column called “To Be Frank and Earnest,” which he co-penned with his friend Ernie Hoffman. Frank’s wry humor shone in these pieces. “A whole week has gone


by since the birth of our column, and as yet there hasn’t been any burning in effigy, nor any throwing of rotten eggs and tomatoes,” he wrote in the second edition. “As neophytes to this game of sports writing, we hope these signs mean somewhat the same as the old saying, ‘No news is good news.’” Frank and Doris Dearborn eventually settled in Brattleboro, Vt. In


addition to raising his family, Frank was actively involved in the Brattleboro community, which embraced him for his ability to be inclu- sive and to expand recreation opportunities. For 33 years, he served as


Brattleboro’s superintendent of recreation and parks and was its unofficial shining community star. He was honored with many awards throughout his life, including the Distinguished Fellow Award from the National Recreation Parks Association, and he was a frequent lecturer at Springfield College, Greenfield Community College, the University of Massachusetts, Northeastern University, and Castleton State College. After he died, the Brattleboro Reformer ran an editorial, remarking


Frank Dearborn


on his major contributions in that region, including his work to develop Living Memorial Park, which is considered a landmark facility in New England.


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