Franklin Delano Schalk was born on March 5, 1935 in O’Donell,
Texas, to parents Eddie Nell and Rudolph Schalk.
Franklin Delano Schalk was born on March 5, 1935 in O’Donell, Texas, to parents Eddie Nell and Rudolph Schalk. He finally lost his long and courageous battle with cancer on Aug. 27, 2003, with his wife and loving family at his side. He was preceded in death by his parents and older brother Sydney.
Although relatively short, Frank lived a truly unique and interesting life. As a child, Frank was a gifted musician and played guitar and banjo in a country western band with his four older brothers. Upon graduation as co-valedictorian of his high school, Frank joined the Air Force to earn money for college. While in the Air Force he became a Russian language specialist and was stationed in Germany during the Cold War.
Upon returning to the states, Frank began his college engineering studies but was lured away by an amazing job opportunity as a research technician, which had him traveling to La Paz Bolivia where he soon met his wife, Maria Nel.
Frank spent the next five wonderful years in Bolivia with his new wife and saw the birth of his first two sons, Rudy and Christian. Frank soon received a new assignment in the North Pole. After his six-month assignment, he returned to Bolivia and then moved with his family to Oklahoma and finished his bachelor’s of science in physics and mathematics.
Frank then went to work for Western Electric and was part of a team that invented a robotic wire harness-manufacturing machine. Frank’s third son, Franklin Junior was born in Oklahoma at this time. Frank’s experience with software and robotics brought him to Silicon Valley in the ’70s where he continued his career at Xynetics and later Lockheed Martin Aerospace.
Frank was a generous, kind and gifted individual with a passion for languages, cultures and music. He was also talented with his hands and loved working on numerous home projects.
He is greatly missed by his wife, Maria Nela; three sons, Rudy, Christian, Franklin; his daughter-in-law Vidya; and his grandsons Adrian and Julian. He is also survived by three of his brothers Robert, Olin and Royce. In addition to his immediate family, Frank will be missed by his large and extended family and friends from all over the world.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Johnson Funeral Home, 17720 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill, with a funeral service to follow at 3 p.m. at the chapel.
Interment will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Morgan Hill.
