Colleen M. Frankenbach Of Southampton Dies June 14

Colleen M. Frankenbach of Southampton died on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at the Westhampton Care Center. She was 87.

Colleen Audrey Moore was born on April 25, 1930, in Flushing, to Edward and Louise Moore. Together with her parents and sister Lucille, she spent summers in Southampton Shores before eventually moving to Southampton full time. Her parents owned The Park Hotel, a bar, restaurant and inn across from Agawam Park, and it was here waiting tables that she met Bill Frankenbach, whom she married on June 20, 1953, at St. John’s Church in Southampton, and they subsequently had three children.

Mrs. Frankenbach attended Adelphi University for two years, then became a representative in the commercial department of the New York Telephone Company in Southampton. In 1962, she and her husband opened William A. Frankenbach Garden Center and Christmas Shop where they both worked tirelessly until 1995. Mrs. Frankenbach went on to run a small bed and breakfast from their home on Post Crossing in Southampton Village, which she enjoyed tremendously. Decorating their home for Christmas was one of the Frankenbachs’ favorite traditions.

Mrs. Frankenbach was a deeply spiritual woman and was a member of St. Mary’s Church in Hampton Bays and St. John’s Church in Southampton. She enjoyed spending her Sundays after church driving down on the beach, a tradition she savored for almost 60 years. She also enjoyed her volunteer work and civic participation with organizations such as the March of Dimes, the Southampton Chamber of Commerce, and most notably the Southampton Village Memorial and Veterans Day services and the Fourth of July Parade.

Survivors said she was a natural hostess, and loved socializing with her friends. She also loved traveling, especially vacationing in the Caribbean.

Mrs. Frankenbach is survived by her children, Susan Steinke and husband John, Lisa McWilliams, and Bill Frankenbach and fiancée Peggy Moeller; her grandchildren, Jameson McWilliams Haight and husband Mike, William Steinke, Kristen Steinke and Paul McWilliams, as well as many extended family members and friends. She was married to her husband, Bill, for 58 years before his death in 2011.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton.

Memorial donations may be made to Southampton Volunteer Ambulance Inc., Box 2760, Southampton, NY, 19969, or the Combined Veterans Organization, 23 Main Street, Southampton, NY, 11968.