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HomeNewsArchivesFORMER RESIDENT FRANK SEDLAK DIES AT 85

FORMER RESIDENT FRANK SEDLAK DIES AT 85

Dec. 18, 2003 – Former St. Thomas resident Joseph Franklin Sedlak, who served as a deacon at Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church, died on Dec. 17 following a long illness. He was 85.
Known as "Frank," Sedlak lived in the territory with his wife, Marie Elaine Sedlak, from 1982 to 1989, when they relocated to Powder Springs, Georgia, west of Atlanta.
Sedlak was retired from the U.S. Navy and had been a draftsman. He served as all-round handyman as well as deacon at Frederick Church — and sometime principal at Lutheran Parish School. His wife worked as a nurse and mental health care professional during the years they spent on St. Thomas.
A lifetime lover of the visual and performing arts, cultural history and classical music, he was a fixture in the audiences of Sunshine Theatre, Reichhold Center for the Arts and local dinner theater productions. Upon moving to Power Springs, he became an active member of Nativity Lutheran Church in nearby Austell, Georgia. He took great pride in designing and building area-enhancing structures and played a pivotal role in the development of a children's museum in Marietta, Georgia.
He returned to the territory briefly in 1997 to assist with Hurricane Marilyn recovery efforts as a volunteer with the Laborers for Christ/Mission Builders program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Sedlak is survived by his wife, Marie Elaine; his brother, Kenneth ; daughters Leslie Carman, Anita Davis of St. Thomas, Anita Ellababidy, Valerie Elliott and Lynn Magno; son Daniel Pinnell and daughter-in-law Lisa Pinnell; grandchildren Alexandra, Daniel, Deanna, Denim, Gabriel and Liam; and many other relatives and friends.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, Dec. 20, at Nativity Church in Austell. Locally, in lieu of flowers the family requests donations to The Humane Society of St. Thomas or the Queen Louise Home for Children on St. Croix.

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