On Dec. 14, we celebrated the life of retired minister Frank W. Murdock, who spent the last several years at Noank Baptist Church, part-time, handling visitations, weddings, funerals and occasional preaching. He also taught adult Bible study, sang in church choir and played French horn in the local New Horizons Band.

At his death, Frank and his devoted wife, Marge, had been married 59 years; they had two sons, Tom and Brian, one daughter, Dawn, and six grandchildren.

Frank was a blessing with his warm and compassionate spirit, which he also recognized in other people.

When my wife served as a part-time church secretary years ago, she would always try to be helpful to other people who visited the office with problems or questions. Frank spotted this and, more than once, confided to me that she was a saint for doing this, especially with so much office work to do.

I felt this was high praise, coming from someone who was also such a hard worker.

What made Frank unusual as a minister came from the combination of both scientific and religious educations. His parents were both scientists, and his formal education included both a study of science as well as religion.

Somehow, Frank connected the two disciplines in a way that made sense to him. Following college graduation from Cornell and with a master’s degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity, he was ordained in 1956 with American Baptist Churches, USA. Frank then worked with college students as an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Ames, Iowa. This remained a primary activity when he served as a minister in other college towns. The students enjoyed Frank’s broadly referential mind (his “mental encyclopedia”) and his ability to blend both scientific and religious disciplines.

Frank married Marge in 1960, and rotated through several campus positions, including with Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne and then University of Connecticut. He also served as pastor of American Baptist Churches in Fredonia, N.Y., Mansfield, and finally Essex before retiring and later working part-time with our own church in Noank.

What also made Frank a standout was his dry sense of humor and attention to small details, including his very careful, thorough approach to driving cars and maintaining a huge library. His family also told some funny stories which indicated his attitude on various subjects. Marge spoke of his notes on questions he thought he might want to ask when arriving at Heaven:

“Where is your Library?” “Do you have a place for CDs?” “Why do you only have a King James version of the Bible?” “Do I have to exercise?” “Do I need my cane here?” “Can I take a nap here?”

And his daughter, Dawn, wrote about the advice Frank had given her, in the form of a note, before she went to a college party by herself one night:

“First, chaperone yourself properly. Second ... leave before the police arrive.”

Frank, I can’t top that one. You will definitely be missed.

Ed Johnson lives in Noank.