Frank Wells Griffith 1921- 2013

GRIFFITH, WELLS, HARRELSON, KASAPOGLU

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/8/2014 at 21:01:39

Sioux City Journal
12 September 2013

SIOUX CITY | Frank Wells Griffith, 92, of Fort Myers, Fla., formerly of Sioux City, passed away Sept. 7, 2013, at Hope Hospice in Fort Myers.

Graveside services will be at a later date in Lakeside Cemetery, Spirit Lake, Iowa. Arrangements are under the direction of Horizon Funeral Home in Fort Myers.

Frank Wells Griffith was born on July 1, 1921, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the son of Frank and Gladys (Wells) Griffith. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a pilot from 1941 to 1945. He served in India and China. He attained the rank of major in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, retiring in 1962. Frank received his bachelor of science degree in general engineering from Iowa State University in 1947 and a degree in utility management from the University of Michigan in 1960.

He married Betty Marie Harrelson on Sept. 12, 1945. He later married Leyla Kasapoglu in December 2001. He had lived in Sioux City from 1948 to 1988. He spent his summers in Okoboji, Iowa, and winters in the Sanibel Island and Fort Myers.

Frank was employed with Iowa Public Service from 1948 to 1986. He began his career as a cadet engineer. He was promoted to director of IPS by 1966 and president and C.E.O. in 1968. He then served as chairman of the board and president from 1969 until his retirement in 1986.

He served on many board memberships and directorships in Iowa, notably Security National Bank, Sioux City Chamber of Commerce, and was the director of the Edison Electric Institute and St. Luke's Hospital in Sioux City. He was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. He also served on the board of directors of the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce, as director of the Sioux City Art Center and Rotary International, and was a member of the Sioux City Country Club.

Survivors include his wife, Leyla; sons, Clark Wells Griffith of Dallas, Texas, Steven Harrelson Griffith of Fort Collins, Colo., and Jon Lance Griffith of Spokane, Wash.; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty in 2000; a brother, Stanford; and his parents.