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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Obituary: Delaney, Frank

Age 71


DELANEY, Frank

Our beloved Frank (born Francis Aloysius Delaney II) passed away peacefully on Sunday morning February 7th with his wife Maddy by his side.

He had been home about a week recovering from open heart surgery.

Frank leaves behind his wife, Maddy; his daughters Laura Young (David) and Mollie Forest (Joe); his stepchildren David Beck, Greg Beck and Nicole Tullar; and his sister Carol Joy Graham.

He also leaves behind 14 grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his father Francis Aloysius Delaney and his mother Caroline DeVane Delaney.



Frank was born on February 13, 1945 in Manhattan, New York.

His early years were spent in New York and Maine.

He went to high school in Ojai, California and Seattle, Washington.

He was in the Navy from 1963 to 1965.

During the time he was stationed in Pensacola, Florida he fell in love with the Blues music and wanted to learn to play it so he taught himself how to play the guitar.

He later moved to Spokane and married Carol Margaret Holling and they had two daughters, Laura and Mollie.

He graduated from Eastern Washington University and went on to work for both Xerox and Sperry Univac as a sales representative before starting his own company MTA Micro Technology in 1987.



Frank had also joined the staff of KPBX Spokane Public Radio in the mid 1980’s where he produced The Backwater Blues Show and Raw Bytes (a computer show), both of which aired weekly.



Frank was the webmaster for the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation that had inquiries from all over the world.

He taught guitar classes for 30 years and was a songwriter, a musician, a movie maker and explorer.



He met the love of his life, Maddy and they were married on January 1, 2010.

They sang together in many venues and this was their greatest joy.

Their favorite concert was the monthly concert they did at the Union Gospel Mission where they had been singing since 2009.

They loved to travel and their travels took them on a cross country trip by car across America, to Ireland, to Canada and recently on an Alaskan cruise up the Inland Passage.

There will be a Celebration of his life on Saturday, February 13th, 2:00p.m.

in the chapel of the Union Gospel Mission located at 1224 E. Trent Avenue in Spokane.

There will be a reception following in the Club House at the Graymayre Crossing Apartments, 636 E. Magnesium Rd., Spokane, WA.

This is one block west of Nevada.

In lieu of flowers please graciously send any donations to the Union Gospel Mission.