RIP Frank, and thanks for creating the coolest masthead ever

RIP Frank, and thanks for creating the coolest masthead ever

Frank Millsop, the local man who created the coolest newspaper masthead ever (above) as a favor to the publisher, passed away peacefully on May 18 in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with his family by his side. True to his Canadian roots (Kirkland Lake, Ontario), Frank loved Crown Royal and being on the water, which is what led him to Perdido Key.
An artist by trade, he moved to the U.S. early in his career and pursued multiple passions, eventually retiring as the vice president of catalog production for Service Merchandise. He also owned Buccaneers, a music venue and restaurant in Orange Beach in what was originally Shirley & Wayne’s Supper Club (The Walmart gas station is there now).
Frank loved anything with an engine, and the faster, the better. He always pushed the envelope, never doing what was expected and never taking “no” for an answer. He always persevered and figured out a way.
Those fortunate enough to spend time with him likely heard some of his favorite tales: A Route 66 trip as a teenager with a best buddy; finagling a Corvette for a company car while his colleagues drove Buicks; letting his necktie dangle loosely around his neck to adhere to the corporate dress code (“They didn’t say I had to tie it!”); and circumventing the Corp of Engineers’ refusal to allow a personal boat dock on his lakefront property, by designing and building a marine railway to extend a temporary dock anytime he wanted to use his boat.
Throughout his 86 years, he lived in New Jersey, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. He was a man of many adventures and travels that spanned his long lifetime, and he will be dearly missed by all who knew him.