Frank and his wife, Peggy, were foster parents to a youngster from Cambodia.  Over the years, they have stayed in touch and whenever the now grown man comes to visit, he brings something special.  One year, he brought four fertilized chicken eggs which is a delicacy in his country.  Peggy would not hear of the idea of cooking a fertilized egg so she put the four eggs in a bed room…and pretty much forgot about them.

Lo and behold, about two weeks later she heard a strange noise coming from the bedroom.  Later, when she heard the noise again, she went to investigate and one of the eggs had hatched.  The young chick was tenderly cared for and joined Frank and Peggy’s  four chickens in the backyard.  When the young chick was about six months old, it started to crow.  They named the rooster, Rufus.  They live in an area of Chesapeake with large lots so they Rufus’ crowing doesn’t bother the neighbors.

Frank grew up in Norfolk.  His father purchased Cox Funeral Home when Frank was five years old.  For the first five years of owning the business, the family lived on the second floor.  The home had red lights installed so that when there was activity relating to the business, such as a viewing, Frank and his brother would remain quiet.

One of his father’s hobbies was working in the yard.  Every afternoon he would water the lawn.  One day, a neighbor who was being assigned by the U. S. Navy inquired in Frank’s father would be interested in purchasing the house across the street.  Frank’s father only had about $10,000 which was less than the sailor wanted.  About six months later with the departure looming, the sailor sold the property to Frank’s father and the family moved across the street.

After graduating from Maury, the last thing that Frank wanted was to follow in his father’s footsteps as a mortician.  Frank went to Virginia Tech with the idea of becoming a dentist.  He soon learned that his manual dexterity wouldn’t allow that so he pursued a business degree.  After graduating from Virginia Tech, Frank started his business career as a banker with the First National Bank of Blacksburg.

Fate intervened when his father died.  His mother called Frank and asked him to come back to Norfolk to help in the family business.   Frank followed in his brother’s footsteps and went to mortuary school in Atlanta.   His brother had told him of some nursing students nearby and gave him a dorm phone number.  One night, some of Frank’s classmates called the number and met some of the students at a local club.  Frank and one of the nursing students hit it off and he and Peggy were married six months later.  They have been married for forty-one years. 

One day, Lewis Shulman and Jimmy Peak asked Frank to go to lunch.  What followed was an invitation to join Rotary which he did in 1975.  At the time, he was the youngest member of the Club.  He enjoys being able to sit at a table and talk about a variety of things with people in different industries.  Frank is a Paul Harris Fellow. 

Frank and Peggy have two sons.  One is a contractor and the other son works for Paradise Marine, a subsidiary of T. Parker Host.

Frank and Peggy own a farm in Brunswick County, Virginia, where they have a log cabin.  Frank enjoys fishing and gardening.   Peggy loves to collect rocks and has made a waterfall for the fish pond which also helps in erosion control. 

In addition to the chickens and Rufus the rooster, Frank and Peggy have three dogs—a boxer, a German shepherd, and a yellow lab.