A reflection on Frank Kearns: a kindred spirit

On Sunday, Barbara and I attended the moving celebration of life for our friend and colleague Frank Kearns who recently passed away unexpectedly. It was a huge turnout honoring this special man and his connection with everyone there. Especially moving was Carol’s tribute. And there were family, and eloquent writers, and poets who shared their stories and how Frank impacted their lives. It is clear that Frank was an overachiever, and a bit of a Renaissance man.

In my mind, Carol and Frank Kearns are inseparable. I first met them when we were founding members of the Downey Arts Coalition. In a world full of knuckleheads, Frank was a gentleman. He was a strong supporter of the arts and literature. A supporter of the Downey Symphony.

They were producers for DAC’s west coast premiere of Jane Anderson’s “Defying Gravity,” her surrealistic play of the Challenger Disaster and its impact on the teacher and her family, the NASA family, tourists who came to watch.

It was especially relevant in Downey where all the NASA work was designed and created. Downey teams were there at the launch. In the play, Claude Monet, the impressionist painter, was also featured trying to capture light in his paintings.

It seems like whenever DAC needed them, they were there. When the Downey Arts Coalition gave scholarships to the local high schools, there were Carol and Frank giving scholarships for “women in science.”

Frank was willing to stand up and speak his mind when he saw injustices. An inspiration for many, he was for me, that special thing, a kindred spirit. At my age that is an important thing. And I sensed a common kinship not only with him, but with those at his celebration. He had touched our hearts in a special way.

I remember driving up to his house to deliver something and Frank was mowing the lawn. I said to myself, huh, some poets mow their own lawn.

Curious as to how he met Carol, I asked him. They shared a carpool to UCLA as students. Then he told me a bit of their time in the 60’s in Venice when revolution was in the air, the Civil Rights Movement, the Chicano Movement, the War in Vietnam, and the counterculture. Frank lived in a food cooperative in Venice. They were in a gathering that included young men and women. He noticed Carol who was kind of cute. All the other young women had gone natural, and Carol was the only one wearing make up.

The clincher thought was when Frank showed her his motorcycle and Carol was instantly eager to join him on a ride. What a ride it has been for both of them.

He and Carol came to our recent 50’s rock and roll fundraiser for the Symphony. With a big smile on his face, he came up to me excited and said, “Alistair, Where did you get this band!” And he was off rockin’ and rollin’ with Carol.

Rest well my friend. You continue to inspire us all.