{"id":45577,"date":"2015-08-29T00:09:16","date_gmt":"2015-08-29T00:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=45577"},"modified":"2015-09-04T23:43:46","modified_gmt":"2015-09-04T23:43:46","slug":"owego-community-remembers-bill-franz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/08\/29\/owego-community-remembers-bill-franz\/","title":{"rendered":"Owego community remembers Bill Franz"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Owego<\/a>

Pictured is William “Bill” Franz, Owego\u2019s former Mayor, Fire Chief and Trustee, who passed away on Saturday, Aug. 22 at the age of 76, after a brief illness.\u00a0A funeral was held on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at St. Patrick\u2019s Church.\u00a0(Provided photos)<\/p><\/div>\n

Several hundred friends, family and community residents gathered at the Estey, Munroe and Fahey Funeral Home in Owego on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 25 to remember William \u201cBill\u201d Franz.<\/p>\n

Franz, Owego\u2019s former Mayor, Fire Chief and Trustee, passed away on Saturday, Aug. 22 at the age of 76, after a brief illness. A funeral was held on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at St. Patrick\u2019s Church.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Owego, N.Y., Franz graduated from St. Patrick\u2019s School and Owego Free Academy. As a teenager, Franz worked in his grandparents business, Kies Bottling Works. A 1959 graduate of Broome Technical College with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Franz worked at IBM for 35 years, and retired after 40 years in January 2000, which included working for Loral and Lockheed-Martin. Three of his last years with Lockheed-Martin were spent working abroad in Southampton, England.<\/p>\n

Franz is remembered as a role model and for his exemplary community service, with multiple accomplishments during the eight years he was Owego Fire Chief, three years on the Owego Board of Trustees, and four years as Village of Owego Mayor.<\/p>\n

A life-long 60-year member of the Owego Fire Department (OFD) since the age of 16, Franz was one of the \u201cFlat Rats\u201d of Croton Hose Company No. 3. In addition to his role as Fire Chief for eight years, Franz was an OFD foreman for six years, and Captain of the OFD emergency squad for four years, and also participated in hose team competitions, among other activities.<\/p>\n

\"Owego<\/a>

From left, Owego Fire Chief Bill Franz shows the pump panel of the Owego Fire Department Company No. 1’s new Mack R Series Pumper to young Firefighter Steve Gavin, around 1970.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI wish I could sum up my dad in a couple of sentences,\u201d said Craig Franz, Bill Franz\u2019s son. He added, \u201cPerhaps my brother, Dan, stated it the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

“There were three things Dad cared most about in this world; family, friends and Owego,\u201d stated Dan. He added, \u201cThe support we’ve received this week is a testament to the community\u2019s appreciation of our dad’s life’s work.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Loftus, a previous Owego Mayor, shared, \u201cBill was part of a generation that can\u2019t be replaced. He was passionate about the community. The Village has lost a good soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick Gavin, a long time Owego resident and 20-year member of the Owego Fire Department, said, \u201cBill was charismatic and a ball of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gavin shared that when he was 10 years old, he helped pass out flyers when Bill Franz was running for Owego Mayor, and took inspiration from him throughout the years.<\/p>\n

\"Owego<\/a>

Pictured is a\u00a0protest sign that reads, “1 is TOO MANY,” a sign that Bill Franz made in response to\u00a0a former Owego Mayor\u2019s recommendation to eliminate\u00a0volunteer firefighters in 2009.\u00a0Franz brought the sign along to Village board meetings.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some examples Gavin shared about Bill\u2019s accomplishments still remain a vital part of the community today, including extensive renovations at Owego\u2019s Central Fire Station and establishing infrastructure in the Hallstead Development, as well as other memorable contributions such as the trees that are planted along Fifth Avenue and the placement of historic signs at entry points into the Village, just to cite a few.<\/p>\n

Loftus also shared, \u201cBill always fought for what he believed was right and best.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a former Owego Mayor\u2019s recommendation to eliminate volunteer firefighters in 2009, Gavin said, like many, Franz was not pleased, and then made a home-made protest sign that read, \u201c1 is TOO MANY;\u201d meaning one termination was too many, and brought the sign along to Village board meetings.<\/p>\n

Other comments shared by community members describing Franz include, \u201cHe was a pillar of the community,\u201d and \u201cHe made Owego a wonderful place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Franz was a member of the Owego Moose Lodge, Tioga County Sportsman Club, VFW Men’s Auxiliary, and the Sons of the American Legion.<\/p>\n

Another group Franz was a member of is called the Squirrel Club, an informal gathering of neighborhood gents, otherwise known as a \u201cbunch of nuts,\u201d who get together daily for coffee to solve the day\u2019s and world\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n

\"Owego<\/a>

Once a Flat Rat, always a Flat Rat. Pictured, is William \u201cBill\u201d Franz.<\/p><\/div>\n

His parents and his wife of 50 years, Carol, and his brother, Edward, predeceased Franz. He is survived by his children, Craig and his wife Julie Franz of Malone, N.Y., Theresa Franz of Atlanta, Ga., Daniel and his wife Arianna Franz of Round Rock, Texas; four grandchildren, Tyler, Molly, Abigail and Olivia; one brother and two sisters-in-law, Richard and Patricia Franz, and Rose Franz; dear friend and companion Ginny Veech, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several hundred friends, family and community residents gathered at the Estey, Munroe and Fahey Funeral Home in Owego on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 25 to remember…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":45578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOwego community remembers Bill Franz - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/08\/29\/owego-community-remembers-bill-franz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Owego community remembers Bill Franz - 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