When Frank retired in 1999 from his second engineering career at Boeing, "live young and die fast" became his motto. He skied, traveled, skied, walked his dog, skied, tried (and rejected) golf, followed the stock market religiously, tinkered with his RV, read voraciously, and was known to enjoy a martini or two with friends. At age 77, he checked out following a massive heart attack at his Redmond home - motto fulfilled. Frank was a unique and complex man; witty, politically incorrect, loyal, adventurous, stubborn, kind-hearted, and a "my way or the highway" kind of guy (which often got him in trouble with his wife). Frank is survived by Sandi, his wife of 44 years; son Joe (Karen); daughters Mary Rafchiek and Susan Gunn (Barry); six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held on October 6, 1:30 pm, at Robinswood House, 2430 148th Ave SE, Bellevue. Come raise a glass and share your best Frank stories on what would have been his 78th birthday. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent to the Humane Society, Hopelink, or any food bank. See guest book at www.legacy.com.


Born to Bernadine (Urbaniak) and Frank J. Rafchiek in Chicago, Illinois, on October 6, 1935, Frank grew up on the south side of Chicago, an only child whose father disappeared when he was 10. Frank was scary-smart, street-wise and ambitious, working part-time jobs after school from the age of 10 to help support himself and his mother. His was an adventurous and independent spirit, and he taught himself to fix everything - including his first car, a 1936 Pontiac which he rebuilt from pieces at age 15 (with no prior mechanical knowledge or training). Frank knew that factory jobs would be his life unless he got a college education, and, despite marrying and starting a family at the age of 20, he earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1957. For the next several years, he worked toward his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-- as a full time grad student and full-time college instructor. He completed his PhD written and oral exams, and was working to finish his thesis when Boeing made him a job offer he couldn't refuse --in Seattle. Planning to would finish his thesis at Boeing, Frank moved his young family to the Seattle area and began his engineering career in Boeing's Commercial Airplane Division. He quickly advanced into management, where he gained a reputation as a decisive and effective leader--who wore a cowboy hat with his 3-piece suits! Due to some technicalities, however, Frank did not complete his PhD and his marriage eventually ended in divorce in 1967. He took up mountain climbing and skiing, and in 1969 he met and married Sandi, who was also employed by Boeing at that time.


Frank was an engineer at heart, but his hobby and passion was the stock market. Beginning his new life with Sandi seemed like the perfect time to pursue a new career -- as a stock broker. In 1970, he said goodbye to Boeing and entered the exciting world of Wall Street. Frank was especially thrilled by the high-risk, high-gain action of the commodities markets, and over the next decade he transitioned from stock broker (in Seattle), to commodities broker (in San Francisco) - eventually developing one of the first computerized commodities trading programs in the industry. In 1976 he opened his own business as an independent commodities trading advisor (Futures Management Research), but by late 1979, his Wall Street career came to an end after he and Sandi chose to move back to the Northwest--and start their careers over one more time. There were compensations. Frank had always been an outdoorsman, and he and Sandi eventually bought a house in the country, adopted a dog and two horses, and enjoyed riding, camping and hiking.


Upon their return to the Seattle area in late 1979, Frank (who had always loved teaching) immediately found an instructor position at a small engineering school, Cogswell College North(in Kirkland). An inveterate goal-setter, Frank next earned his Professional Engineering license and was promoted to Dean of Mechanical Engineering. As Dean, he coordinated the school's curriculum with Boeing's employee education program, and in 1984 he returned to Boeing as an engineering manager, retiring in 1999 as Director of Engineering Research in the Defense and Space Group.


Frank viewed retirement as his well-earned reward for a lifetime of hard work, and looked forward to finally having more time to enjoy the things he loved. Of course, he immediately began setting new goals and measures of success: To ski a million vertical feet in one year (he made 800,000); To lift heavier weights and do more reps (all recorded neatly in a notebook), To develop his own methodologies for predicting future stock performance (data carefully researched, recorded on spreadsheets and results evaluated); to sleep in and to walk his dog twice a day (no data required). He also loved his family, friends, fast cars, good red wine, Warren Buffet, Italian food, his RV, his iPad, Las Vegas, Ketel One vodka, single malt scotch, reading Discovery and The Economist, and listening to music - especially Sting, Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, and his recent favorite, Lady Gaga.


Frank will be sorely missed but never forgotten.