John Stafford Frichtel
Marriages
Charlotte Jean Coley
Jean Frichtel
Obituaries
Steamboat Today - July 19, 2009
Former Hayden resident John "Jack" Stafford Frichtel passed away June 17, 2009, after a battle with lung cancer. He was 77.
Jack was born Sept. 20, 1931, in Hayden to Harry and Mary Lee Frichtel. Jack spent his boyhood on his parents' ranch enjoying hunting, fishing, reading and swimming. He began working early in his life, picking chokecherries, trapping muskrats, milking cows and driving the tractor on Harry's grain farm. He was valedictorian of his eighth grade and senior classes. Jack earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from Colorado A&M in 1953.
After graduation, Jack moved to the East Coast to begin his career with Bell Labs. With the Korean War in progress, he served four years in the Navy. He married Charlotte Jean Coley (1935-1994) after his discharge from the Navy, and he returned to work at Bell Labs.
He then joined the aerospace department of General Electric in Utica, N.Y. He remained with G.E. until his retirement in 1989. After his retirement, he moved to Lynchburg, Va., and continued to work as a consultant to various companies involved with shipboard radio systems and communications. His work required Jack and his second wife, Jean, to travel the world. He continued to work up until a few days before his death.
Jack is survived by his loving wife, Jean; his children Charles Frichtel, Ellen Allen and her husband, Jim, Tim Frichtel and his wife, Debbie, all of California; John A. Frichtel and his wife, Marianne, of Virginia; Jean's children Donna Grace and her husband, Don, of New York, Craig Wuest, of Georgia, Mike Wuest and his wife, Sue, of New York, Karen Zongrone and her husband, Vincent, of Virginia; his brother, Bob Frichtel and his wife, Jean, of California; and 11 grandchildren.
