At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 12th, a small handful of members of my family on my mother’s side gathered in the chapel at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Meriden, Connecticut, for a modest memorial service in honor of our late cousin, Judith. She was born in Meriden in 1935, the daughter of my maternal grandfather’s sister. She graduated from Meriden High School in 1953 and earned a degree in Library Science from Simmons College in Boston in 1957.
She began her career as a librarian at the University of Rochester Medical School and retired as a librarian at Monroe Community College in Rochester. She enjoyed reading and traveling extensively with friends. And while my mother’s side of the family had gathered for picnics on the Fourth of July for generations, family members from my generation scattered geographically, and the picnics are no longer held. So, many of us in the family hadn’t seen Judith in decades.
Nevertheless, another cousin, Stephanie, had been in periodic contact with Judith and felt compelled to arrange the service to honor Judith’s life and her memory. For the occasion, thoughtful as she is, Stephanie ordered a small quantity of six-panel gatefold flyers — 4-3/4” x 6-3/4” — from Shutterfly with the program for the service printed on the panels.
Despite the rain and cold, the service warmed us all and reminded us to be grateful for each other, as well as for the stories and the familial connections we still share. Then we gathered for lunch at the home of another cousin, Nancy, to continue our commemoration and the celebration of Judith’s life.
At the luncheon, we discovered there was an unexpected element to the service.
Let’s Be Frank
As we sat around Nancy’s dining-room table, Stephanie explained the program cards she’d ordered from Shutterfly had arrived in a cardboard box, carefully sealed. When Stephanie opened the box, she found the cards for our services neatly shrink-wrapped inside, protected by bubble wrap. But lying on top of ours, all by itself, there was another card.
In the same style as ours, the card bore the likeness, the name, and the birth and death dates of one Frank Esquivel. Neither Stephanie nor the rest of us knew if Frank’s card had been packed with ours inadvertently or as an entirely unneeded sample of the cards Stephanie had already ordered, had printed, and taken receipt of.
With my typical curiosity, I searched for Frank Esquivel, using the dates on his card. I didn’t find him or anyone who looked like him. But I did find obituaries for other Frank Esquivels who passed away in different years:
- Frank R. Esquivel (1949–2005), who passed away in San Antonio, Texas, on September 16, 2005.
- Frank Nick Esquivel (1943–2017), who passed away in San Antonio, Texas, on February 13, 2017.
- Frank Esquivel (1922–2004), who passed away in Lincoln, Nebraska, on July 22, 2004.
- Frankie Esquivel (1931–2022), who passed away in Newcastle, Wyoming, on May 2, 2022.
- Francisco “Frank” Javier Esquivel (1960–2024), who passed away in Payette, Idaho, on September 3, 2024.
Since I couldn’t stand to think Frank might have checked out without due recognition, I wrote this to honor his life and his memory and to give him a proper sendoff:
Frank Esquivel Obituary
March 20, 2025
Frank “Bruno” Esquivel, 93, departed this life on March 20, 2025. He was predeceased by his parents, Fred and Ernestine Esquivel.
Frank was born in Catalonia, Spain, in 1931. Because he suffered from high fevers as an infant, his parents emigrated from Spain to Alaska, thinking the colder air might cool young Frank off. But after six months in Alaska, he contracted severe frostbite. So, his parents moved to the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, where, at the age of three, Frank became the youngest person ever to win the Triple Crown of Surfing — the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa Ali’i Beach Park, the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, and the Billabong Pipe Masters at Banzai Pipeline.
One day in 1964, at the age of 33, Frank heard the song, “I’ll Follow the Sun”, by the Beatles. Thinking it sounded like a good idea, he headed west and never stopped walking until he found himself back on Oahu. Along the way, he fathered three children — Gladys, Steve, and Ernesto — with 347 different women. He died tragically but happily trying to become the oldest person ever to win the Triple Crown of Surfing. His remains were strapped to his surfboard and set adrift in the Pacific Ocean.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to SURF (Surely U Remember Frank). Please send your checks, made out to SURF, 16 Haleakala Circle, Oahu 96701. For credit-card payments, please call 1-800-SURFSUP. Operators are standing by.
Rest in peace, Frank. You were a heck of a guy.
