Community gathers to mourn Sheriff's Office spokesman
A man of faith and dedicated public servant, Lt. Michael J. Frank was more than the face of the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. He was invested in his community in a number of ways and, above all else, was a devoted father who loved his children unconditionally.
Frank, who was killed in a traffic accident Saturday, is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel of his sport utility vehicle on his way back to Aiken from Atlanta, where he had refereed a hockey game earlier in the day. He veered off the roadway in Green County, Ga., and crashed into a guardrail at mile marker 132 on the Interstate.
The sheriff's office reported his passing later that evening.
"Michael was a family man, a man of compassion who cared about his job, but most-importantly, his kids," said Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt at Wednesday's service.
The sheriff then turned to Frank's children, 19-year-old Tara Frank and 16-year-old Tyler "Tip" Frank.
"He loved you very much," Hunt said.
The body of the 48-year-old deputy was laid to rest at Pineview Memorial Park in North Augusta.
Law enforcement officers throughout the two-state area, family and friends and members of the media Frank worked with gathered first at Lakeside Baptist Church to bid him a final and tearful farewell. The church pews filled quickly with hundreds of mourners, and dozens more gathered in the neighboring church gym to watch streaming video.
Frank received full law enforcement honors.
Before his flag-draped casket was carried into the sanctuary, the boots of the six uniformed deputies could be heard striking the floor in unison while bagpipes droned in the background.
Tara Frank then spoke about her father, choking back tears as she shared anecdotes about his life and lamented about life's journeys she and her brother will face without him.
"He will never have the chance to walk me down the aisle," she said, adding that she will graduate college soon and her brother would finish high school without him.
"Today, Tip and I aren't saying goodbye. We are saying see ya later dad, we'll take it from here," she said.
A picture presentation then played overhead.
The images of Frank in hockey gear, with his children, and at several family gatherings drew laughter and tears.
From the church, the body was then escorted to the cemetery by state motorcycle troopers and dozens of marked law enforcement cars.
Once graveside, Tara Frank read from her father's Bible, choosing verses she said he had highlighted.
When all was silent, a solo buglar sounded "Taps" and white-gloved deputies fired a 21-gun salute.
Friends commented that Frank would have been impressed with the tribute.
A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter flew overhead.
In keeping with tradition, a final call for the veteran Sheriff's Office deputy sounded over police radios.
A Sheriff's Office dispatcher called for Frank three times, using his car number at each interval.
"Aiken to car eight," the dispatcher called.
The calls went unanswered.
The dispatcher said his service to the Sheriff's Office was complete and his tour of duty done.
"Lt. Michael Frank, car eight, is 10-7 from service - may he rest in peace," she said.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com