Frank Allen Birdsong Sr.'s Obituary
Frank Allen Birdsong, Sr., died peacefully on Sunday morning, September 14th at home in Covington, Louisiana, surrounded by family. Born June 12, 1919, in Mayersville, Issaquena County, Mississippi, he died shortly after his 95th birthday. Frank’s parents were the late William Herbert Birdsong and the late Julia Pearl Birdsong. He was pre-deceased by his sister, Julia Pearl Alvarez, and by his brother, Brigadier General William Herbert Birdsong, Jr. US Army Ret.
After graduating from Rolling Fork High School Frank majored in mechanical engineering at then Mississippi State College (now University), was tapped into Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society, graduating in 1940 with a BSME as World War II emerged. While at university he was prominent in the George Rifles and was a founding member of the Gamma Upsilon Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity there.
On June 7th , 1942 he married Sara (Sally) Aimée Jané, his sweetheart of Sigma Chi of Pascagoula, Mississippi. They were happily married more than 69 years.
They moved back to Connecticut where he had been testing prototype radial aircraft engines at Pratt & Whitney before entering the US Army for the war years.
Frank became a Major in the US Army Coast Artillery Corps, serving with the Barrage Balloon headquarters. Following the war and another stint with Pratt & Whitney he returned to the South to settle in New Orleans to rear his family with Sally, his loving wife.
Frank was self-employed as a manufacturers’ representative in New Orleans, LA since 1954 ably assisted for 30 years by Sally. He was actively involved as a Professional Engineer with the Louisiana Engineering Society, American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers. Frank and his son Edmond co-founded Birdsong Associates, Inc., in 1985, where he worked until full retirement 25 years later, having moved to Covington, LA, in 2000.
Frank A. Birdsong, Sr., is survived by his three children and their spouses: Frank A., Jr. (Virginia), Sally Jané Woods (John), Edmond K. (Robin) and 14 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend services at E. J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 West 21st Ave., Covington, LA 70433 on Saturday, September 20, 2014. Vigil will be at noon followed by a funeral Mass at 2pm in the funeral home chapel.
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