Hosna, Frank Joseph

September 11, 1960 – August 20, 2024

Dear husband of Mary D. Hosna (nee Hetherington), dear father of Brad Barton (Laura), Amanda Holt, Frank Hosna II, doting grandpa of Morgan Sims (Tony), Scott Holt, Emma and Mason Hosna, and Parker Barton, proud great grandpa of Anthony Scott Sims and soon to be born Kaci Jo Sims, ex husband of Karen Hosna (nee Hughes). Dear brother of Dae Hacker (Richard), Douglas Allison (Anne), Gary Hosna (Kirstin Windland), Kurt Hosna (Helen), dear brother in law of Vivian Allison, and special member of the extended Kemp family. Frank was preceded in death by his parents Joe and LaVerne Hosna, brothers Joey Hosna and Dennis Allison, and nieces Dawn Baumhoff and Alyssa Russo. Adoring “Daddy” to many, many cats throughout the years. Dear uncle, cousin, and friend to many.

SERVICES: The family has made the following arrangements and welcomes friends and family to join them in celebrating Frank’s life: Visitation at Kutis Affton, 10151 Gravois Rd, 63123 from 4 – 8 pm on Monday August 26, then from 10 – 11 am on Tuesday August 27 at Zion Lutheran Church, 12075 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Funeral at 11:00 am from Zion Lutheran Church with burial to follow in the church cemetery.

Per his wishes, donations in Frank’s memory may be made to Animal House Cat Rescue and Adoption Center or to Zion Lutheran Church. The family wishes to thank the numerous medical personnel, especially at Barnes West Hospital, the Hospice Team for BJC Hospice, and primary care physician Dr. Rand Sommer, for their unfailing compassion, dedication, and excellent care that they gave to Frank and for the kindness and support given to all of us during his illness. Frank was a Christian who knew that he would live in Glory with Jesus and be whole and healed. Our family takes great comfort in this knowledge and looks forward to a joyful reunion with him in the future.

Frank’s youth was full of mischievous pranks and daredevil antics, usually accompanied by his younger brothers, Gary and Kurt, and various neighborhood friends. Broken bones and blood were not unusual, nor was sneaking out of the attic. From a young age, Frank had a passion for understanding how things worked. He often helped his father fix vehicles, took apart and fixed lawn mowers, and scoured the neighborhood on junk days finding televisions, radios, and other things to fix and use. At fifteen he bought a 1950’s pickup and rebuilt the motor from the ground up. This passion extended throughout his entire life, as he built numerous computers, changed engines and transmissions in vehicles, and was known to be able to fix almost anything mechanical, electrical, or electronic. He attended Roosevelt High School in St. Louis and graduated from the Academy of Math and Science in St. Louis. Soon after graduating, he enlisted in his beloved United States Marine Corps in 1979, stationed at MCRD San Diego. He was a parachute rigger and was headed to Hawaii, but received an Honorable Discharge due to an old ankle injury which prevented him from completing his full term of enlistment.

His love of animals and nature was also rooted in childhood. His father bred Dobermans, and there were always cats in the household. As an adult, he always had at least one cat, and could never refuse to take in a stray, sick, or injured cat or kitten. He also often tried to help other injured animals, be it a baby rabbit, squirrel, skunk, or fawn. He even began feeding a raccoon that he called “Rocky” who appeared on the deck, foraging in the flower pots for bugs. He delighted in having a mother fox raise her kits under the front porch of his home in South County! The current menagerie misses their Daddy tremendously, most notably Squeakers, Bella, and Smokey.

For a time, his late grandmother Amanda lived in rural Jefferson County (his father also lived there for part of his childhood) and the family often spent time on “The Homestead”, camping, hunting, shooting, and just enjoying the outdoors. This became one of Frank’s favorite places and he would have been overjoyed if he could have lived there permanently. Another of Frank’s favorite places was New Orleans, calling it his second home. His beloved Aunt Lou and Uncle Glenn (his mother’s brother) lived in Metairie, and Frank was a frequent visitor, attending Mardi Gras for over 30 years, and visiting throughout the year as well. He adored Creole and Cajun food and enjoyed cooking it at home in St. Louis. He amassed a large collection of Pat O’Brien glassware and New Orleans related books, pictures, and Mardi Gras throws.

After his discharge from the Marine Corps, Frank and Karen were married. He worked at various jobs, chiefly for C.L. Smith Company, often traveling out of state to work lining coal chutes with ceramic brick at power plants. During this period in his life, he also became a member of Clifton Heights Masonic Lodge, and purchased the first of his many Harley Davidson motorcycles. Along with his father in law, Joe Hughes, Frank rode his Harley in the Alhambra Grotto Motor Patrol unit, performing maneuvers in countless parades, both big and small, throughout Missouri and Illinois during the 1980’s and 1990’s. He was a lifetime member of the Harley Owners Group (HOG).

After yet another injury forced him to take a break from his active life, Frank decided that he wanted to go back to school. He enrolled in the Basic Institute of Technology, attending classes in the evening after work, and earned an Associate’s Degree in Electronic Engineering. This degree laid the foundation for his future and allowed him to blend his talents and skills with his interests and passions. He worked for several businesses such as Deltronics, City Tronics, and even took on second, part-time jobs at Radio Shack and E & M Motorcycles. After he and Karen divorced, Frank accepted a position as Parts Manager at the Best Buy Service Center in Earth City, which combined his knowledge of electronics with his passion for detail and organization.

In 1996, Frank finally met and began to establish a relationship with his oldest son, Brad, who was fifteen at the time. Over the years, the three siblings and their dad enjoyed getting together and getting to know each other. In early 1999, Frank and Mary met through friends who were connected to the band “Hitchcock”. Frank’s friend was the drummer, and Frank would often act as a roadie, helping the band set up for gigs. Mary taught with the wife of the lead singer, and enjoyed going to listen to the band and dance. And, as they say, the rest is history. Those connections and friendships have withstood the tests of time, different bands, and life events.

In order to provide for his family, Frank chose to seek employment that had both better pay and fewer hours. He was hired at Graybar Electric and worked there for several years, gaining more experience in purchasing and electronics. His final move was to Ameren, initially being hired into the Purchasing Department where he bought IT equipment, supplies for the Calloway Nuclear Plant, and most of the stationery, envelopes, and billing supplies for the company. He was chosen to be part of the Strategic Sourcing Committee, which focused on better utilization of resources for purchasing. Frank then transferred to the Rush Island Plant as a Materials Controller, still using his expertise in purchasing, inventory control, and safety related equipment. While there, he joined the team for Storm Duty, deploying all over the state during extreme weather conditions when there were massive power outages. This allowed him to be outdoors, walking to find downed power lines, and helping communities regain power. He then transferred to become an Estimator at the Jefferson District headquarters in Jefferson County, Missouri. He would help existing customers who wished to upgrade their service, put additions on homes, establish new services, and solve problems between customers and their contractors by making sure that electrical work was being completed safely and designed correctly. He was very good at this job and enjoyed being able to put his creative and mechanical skills to use helping others.

Frank and Mary became engaged in the summer of 2010 just after her retirement from the Parkway School District where she was an elementary teacher for 29 years. In March of 2011, the weekend they returned from New Orleans and Mardi Gras, Frank suffered a devastating ruptured brain aneurysm one night. Thankfully, he was able to be transported to St. Louis University Hospital where he had emergency brain surgery performed, saving his life. His surgeon was in St. Louis teaching the exact procedure that he used on Frank and was to leave town two days later. His primary care physician has called Frank his ‘miracle patient’ because he was among a very small percentage of patients who’ve had this type of aneurysm, lived through it, and were not totally incapacitated by it. Frank and Mary were married on May 21, 2011, barely two months after his aneurysm, at Zion Lutheran Church in Maryland Heights. Frank’s great grandfather, Gerhard Schroeder, was one of the founders of this congregation in 1869.

Frank was able to return to his job at Ameren on limited duty at first for many months, but then full duty after nearly a year. Unfortunately the stress of the job combined with lingering side effects of the aneurysm forced him to be placed on Long Term Disability in 2016 and, while still an employee, he was not able to actively work.

One of the related complications from his aneurysm was that Frank developed a multitude of other health problems. From 2016 forward, he constantly fought to maintain a normal and active life, enjoying his grandchildren, welcoming a great grandson, being outdoors in nature, working on vehicles, doing yard work, and pursuing hobbies of gun smithing, coin collecting, spoiling his beloved cats, and so much more. While he was fortunate to never contract Covid, the imposed isolation and restrictions took its toll on his health in the long run. The last few years saw a real decline in his ability to recover from illness or injury, yet he continued to push himself to stay active and involved whenever possible. He was hospitalized 5 times between May 2024 and his death in August, and only really ceased his fight to recover at the end when it became clear that he now could not win the battle.