Obituary of Francis G. "Frank" Blaha

Francis G. Blaha, age 86, passed away in Nashville TN, on Thursday, October 24, 2024 with Kenny and Craig by his side.

Frank was born in Lennox Hill Hospital on the upper east side of New York City to Jeanne and Francis Blaha; He is predeceased by his sister Jeanne. Frank is survived by two sons, Mark and Craig Blaha and Bonus Family Lori Mercadante and husband Kenneth.

He lived the first 5 years of his life on the south side of 43^rd Avenue west of 60^th Street, across the street from his lifelong friend Charles Huber. The family moved to 108-34 37^th Drive Corona, N.Y. in 1943 where they rented an apartment in a house that was built by Grandpa William Blaha. This is where Frank’s lifelong love of airplanes first started. Frank built model airplanes on the back porch and the flight path for La Guardia airport was right down 37^th Drive. He recalled his father taking him to Flushing airport for a flight around the Statue of Liberty as a reward for good performance in school.

His father passed away in 1952, Frank joined the United States Air Force in March of 1956 as a Jet Engine Specialist, where he graduated second in his class. From there he went to Casablanca, Morocco for an 18-month tour, where he worked on the T33 jet fighter. His next stop was Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah Georgia, where he worked on J47 engines for the B47.

After leaving the Air Force in 1960, Frank worked for Pan Am, then Delta airlines as a jet engine mechanic. Frank met and married his second wife Wendy Gaillard, and they had two kids, Mark (wife Chrissie and daughter Madison) and Craig (wife Cynthia and daughters Isabelle and Sophia).

Frank moved to Delhi, New York in 1987 where he met his third wife Lola Merkel. Frank was eager to become a grandfather to the Mercadante family. He enjoyed sailing, fishing, building models, playing on his flight simulator, sharing his trains, going to Disney World, and watching the kids' play their sports and ride horses.

He was an excellent grandfather to Michael, Mathew, Michele and Laura Mercadante, Sophia and Isabelle Blaha; great-grandchildren: Zander, Myla, Quinn, Myrette, Shelby, Kendra, Breanna, and Aiden: and uncle to nieces and nephews Kurt, Paul (deceased), David, John, Andrew, Loraine, and Carolyn.

Graveside service with military honors will be held at 11AM on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at Woodland Cemetery, Delhi, NY, with the Rev. Edward Golding celebrant.

Please visit www.macarthurfh.com to share a condolence with Frank’s family.