Fr. Frank Schenk was one of a kind in more ways than one. The most obvious is that he is the first Glenmarian to reach 100 years of age. He was 102 years old when he died on April 11, 2018. Yesterday we celebrated his life at his funeral. In one of our Glenmary documents it is written, "The death of a Glenmary brother is his final witness to his profession of Faith while he lived; it is the climax to his life of ministry for the Kingdom; it is the consummation of his Glenmary Oath. For these reasons, the event is rightly considered a celebration."
During the wake service, the funeral homily and other times sharing we heard many wonderful stories of his kindness, generosity, faithfulness, holiness and much more. Fr. Frank was always "old" to me since I did not meet him until he was already in his 80's. But despite our age differences I always enjoyed spending time with him and hear his reflections on life and what was happening in Glenmary and the missions. He never talked about himself too much but generally would share his opinions and views. When he was told that someone had written an article in the Washington Post about volunteering at Glenmary and that they mentioned meeting Fr. Frank in the article, Frank replied, "I hope it wasn't too flowery."
I most often saw Fr. Frank in the Our Lady of the Fields Chapel praying and knew that I could count on him for specific prayer requests for vocation prospects in Glenmary. I also saw him in the kitchen where he continued to bake fresh bread for the community until he was 100 years old.
Fr. Frank served in Glenmary missions including; North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas and Oklahoma. In addition Fr. Frank served as a missioner on loan in Colombia for a number of years.
Frank's obituary can be read on the Glenmary website (http://www.glenmary.org/site/epage/110380_919.htm).
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