Frank Desmond remembered
By his sister, Pat
Francis X. Desmond Jr., 75, was a man who loved life, family and politics.
He died Jan. 17 at Royal Nursing Home in Braintree under the care of Hope Hospice.
Frank always enjoyed a good argument. Some of the people who were on the opposite side of those arguments didn’t realize that there was nothing personal in the debate.
He lived in Milton and Cape Cod his entire life. He was born Sept. 29, 1948, the second child of the late Mary (Donahue) Desmond and the late Francis X. Desmond. Both were lifelong Milton residents and graduates of Milton High 1939.
He graduated from St. Agatha School in 1953.The only people who ever called him Francis were the sisters of St. Joseph at St. Agatha. Friends and family called him Bruz in those years. He contracted polio while in grade 2 and repeated grade 3 as a result of all the time he missed the year before.
He loved attending Milton High School, graduating in 1967. While at MHS he was on the track team which won the state title.
He is survived by his loving daughters, Shannon M. Desmond of Mansfield, and Caitlin Speck of Texas, his sisters, Pat Desmond of Quincy, Kathleen Desmond of Milton, Therese Desmond of Milton, and his brother Thomas J. Desmond of South Yarmouth. He was the grandfather of Cole Speck of Texas and was a proud uncle to June Desmond of Quincy, Tim Desmond of California, Harry Sills of Seattle, Washington, John Sills of New York, Danielle Desmond of Leominster, and TJ Desmond of Florida. He also was a great uncle to Desmond Bradford of New Hampshire, Haley Bradford of Maine, Finn Desmond of California, Charlie, Owen and Graham Sills of Seattle and Julien Sills of New York and Great Great Uncle to Penelope of Maine.
He retired at 65 to the Cape after working for Verizon for 42 years. He had worked in the Boston office of the FBI briefly before he began at New England Telephone Company, which became Verizon.
He lived at Fuller Village in Milton in the last years of his life where he managed to get around despite being legally blind.
He credited his swift admission at Fuller to his old friend and one-time neighbor the late Marvin Gordon.
He was dedicated to the Town of Milton and began his political service as a Town Meeting Member, serving more than 30 years, with his service only interrupted by living out of town. He returned to be an elected Town Meeting Member after moving to Fuller Village.
He went on to become a Trustee of the Milton Cemetery and then to be member and chair of the Milton School Committee.
He was an advocate for the Milton Public Schools, being a founding member of the Milton Foundation for Education. During his time as School Committee Member, he was instrumental in helping to secure the $100 million project for the renovation of all six of the schools back in the early 2000s. He then served on the school building committee from its inception until all the schools were completed. He also dedicated a lot of time to ensuring the school system was meeting the needs of students who learned differently.
While on the School Committee he organized adding lights to Brooks Field.
He served on the Democratic Town Committee and greatly enjoyed attending state conventions and supporting Democratic candidates. In recent years he became obsessed with Donald Trump.
He was once the Exalted Ruler of the Milton Elks, a club that no longer exists, but one where his father had been active. In the Milton Elks he ran events that created a $10,000 scholarship at Milton High School.
He had a love for baseball as he went through every chair in the Milton Babe Ruth League, serving as coach, president, trustee, and avid supporter.
He was a long-time member of the West Dennis Yacht Club.
For more than a year, he wrote a column for the Milton Times called “Looking Back” that featured recent local political history. He had pushed his sister to start a newspaper in Milton after the now defunct Milton Record Transcript became part of a Boston based chain in the 1990s. There are some who say he passed out “Trash the Transcript” bumper stickers.
Before the pandemic interrupted production, he was a favorite on the Milton Access TV cable show produced by Tom Pilla at Fuller Village.
In his spare time, Frank was socializing and always ready for a party. He enjoyed golfing and was an avid boater, spending summers boating through the Bass River and surrounding coasts and islands with friends and family. He will be missed by many.
Michael Farrington, former School Committee Member, said, “Frankie was remarkable, unique, and lived life with a flourish and joy. He confined all of his earthly moments within his beloved town of Milton, and so many of his colleagues were by his enthusiasm stimulated and reinforced with their own affection for the town and for Francis X. Desmond.”
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Agatha Church Jan. 24. Visiting hours were at Dolan Funeral Home Jan. 23.
In lieu of flowers donations will be accepted to JDRF, the leading global organization harnessing the power of research, advocacy, and community engagement to advance life-changing breakthroughs for type 1 diabetes. jdrf.org.