(Death Notice published in Detroit Free Press) Frank Blackford, former Michigan Insurance Commissioner and later financial administrator and President at Macomb Community College, died Thursday, November 9, at his home in Fountain Hills, Arizona. He was 87. A veteran of the second World War, Blackford, received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees from Michigan State University. He enjoyed an impressive career in public service, business and education, while retaining a deep-seated commitment to equality and social justice. Frank is survived by his wife of 63 years, his daughter and son-in-law, and three grandchildren.
(From the Lansing State Journal - corrected) Former Michigan insurance commissioner dies at 87
Frank Blackford, a former Michigan insurance commissioner, died Thursday in Fountain Hills, Ariz. He was 87. Blackford served on the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and as executive secretary of the Michigan State Employees Retirement System.
Former Gov. G. Mennen Williams appointed him commissioner of insurance in 1959. Blackford also held numerous high-level posts - including interim president - at Macomb County Community College before retiring in 1980. He is survived by his wife, Winifred; a daughter, Ann Pierce of Alpine, Calif.; and three grandchildren.
He was my uncle, my friend, and (in a sense) a surrogate father. I will miss him dearly. He came home from WW2, serving in North Africa and the Middle East, and took advantage of the GI Bill to obtain his Masters Degree in Political Science in four years - the very first in his family to even attend college. Upon graduation, through the recommendation of the faculty at Michigan State, he served on the staff of Governor G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams. He then served as State Liquor Control Commissioner, State Insurance Commissioner, and as executive secretary of the Michigan State Employees Retirement System in the Williams administration. He later served on the Board of Directors of Michigan Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
His last life's objective was to make sure he survived long enough to make sure his vote counted - and counted it did, being one of many to remove J. D. Hayworth from office. Frank was a dedicated "New Deal" Democrat his entire life who, in the last several years, expressed great disappointment in the Democratic Party's abandonment of labor and the poor and the spineless appeasement of the Bush/Cheney administration which he viewed as the worst, most criminal in this nation's history by far.
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