Frank A. Hirsch Sr. died on Wednesday, May 31, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. at a local hospital at age 73. He was surrounded by family and friends.
He was born on Oct. 11, 1932, in Mount Kisco, N.Y., to Drs. Francis F. and Iretta H. Hirsch. He was raised in Elizabeth, N.J., and was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, the oldest Presbyterian church in the nation. He attended the private preparatory school, Pingry, and he graduated from Princeton University in 1954 with a B.S. in chemical engineering.
Frank Sr. moved to Chattanooga upon college graduation as an employee of Procter and Gamble. He soon developed a career in the textile chemical business, which was highlighted by his tenure as president and CEO of Lutex Chemical Corp. (later acquired by National Starch and Chemical Corporation). He also served as president of the American Association of Textile Colorists and Chemists (AATCC).
Frank Sr. was a longtime resident of Lookout Mountain and a member of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, where he was a past president of the deacons. In recent years, he took great pleasure from participation in the Dead Theologian Society Bible study.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Drs. Francis and Iretta Hirsch; and by his only brother, Gareth Foster Hirsch, of Coltsneck, N.J.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Mary Alexandra Mott Hirsch, of Lookout Mountain, GA; and by his three children, Katherine H. Willis and husband, Robert M. Willis, of Boone, N.C., Frank A. Hirsch Jr. and wife, Lorna P. Hirsch, of Raleigh, N.C., and Ellen H. Tessman and husband, John David Tessman, of Lookout Mountain, TN. He also is survived by seven grandchildren, Meade, Mary Katherine and Ford Willis, Hayden and Hadley Hirsch and Mary Lillian and John David Tessman, who all were very dear to his heart; and by a number of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
A family visitation (2-3 p.m.) and memorial service (3 p.m.) will be at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church on Saturday. The Rev. Joseph Novenson, assisted by Pastor Frank Hitchings, will preside at the memorial service. Burial will be at a later date.
The family requests that flowers not be sent.
Donations can be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, East Tennessee Branch, 6701 Baum Drive, Suite 240, Knoxville, TN 37919, or Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church Deacons’ Mercy Fund, LMPC, 316 N. Bragg Ave., Lookout Mountain, TN 37350.
Arrangements are by Wann Funeral Home, 4000 Tennessee Ave., (423) 821-7551.