Frank J. Vecella ’54 died on February 13, 2016, in Miami, Florida.
(The following was published by Beyer Funeral Home on February 13, 2016):
Frank Joseph Vecella, age 83, of Islamorada, FL, and Timonium, MD, passed away peacefully on February 13, 2016, in Miami, FL, after a brief battle with leukemia.
He was born on April 26, 1932, in Paterson, NJ, to Frank C. and Jane Quinn Vecella. He graduated from Ramsey High School, in Ramsey, NJ and Englewood School for Boys, in Englewood, NJ. He attended Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, ME and received an A.B. degree in Economics in 1954. He was also the captain of the Varsity baseball team. He then served four years as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
After the military, he attended the University of Maryland School of Law, in Baltimore, MD, where he served on the Law Review and graduated with honors in 1961. Upon graduation from law school, Frank became the first associate at the law firm of Anderson, Coe & King in Baltimore, MD. He spent his entire legal career as a litigation attorney with the law firm, where he specialized in trying medical malpractice and products liability defense cases. He was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (which is the equivalent of the “Hall of Fame” for trial attorneys). Frank retired from his law practice in 1989, whereupon he and his wife Emily enjoyed a long, healthy and happy retirement, splitting time between their homes in Timonium, MD and Islamorada, FL. Frank’s hobbies included tennis, fishing and golf. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, very loving and generous, and he had an unbelievably positive, optimistic and enthusiastic attitude about everything.
Frank is survived by his wife of 59 years, Emily Hollister Vecella; his son, Frank Charles Vecella (wife Pam), of Dallas, TX; his daughter, Cathy Ann Kramek (husband Steve), of Oregonia, OH; his daughter-in-law, Teri Vecella, of Yap, Micronesia; and his five grandchildren, Heather (husband Emil), Jennifer (wife Brittany), Emily, Frank, and Ryan. He is predeceased by his son, David H. Vecella.