Dale Frankamp

Dale Frankamp went home to be with our heavenly father on October 22, 2013.  He was born May 8, 1936 in Scottsville, Kansas to Ernest and Daisy (Atwater) Frankamp. He grew up with five brothers and one sister and loved to entertain his family and friends with stories of his childhood and later adventures.  At an early age, he shared a great love for horses and especially roping.  He graduated from Scottsville High School.  After high school, he married Faye Vollan.  Dale wore many hats during his lifetime but mostly he wore a cowboy hat.  While living in Minnesota he served as the calf-roping director of the Minnesota Rodeo Cowboys Association.  He enjoyed calf roping at rodeos all across the Midwest and in later year’s team roping and in doing so won many trophies, buckles and a saddle.  In the 1950’s he came up with the idea of the first metal rope can and went on to sell thousands of them at various rodeos and through Frankamp Manufacturing.  Later they moved to Kansas and Dale’s Western Store became a well-known business in Belleville where he repaired saddles and boots.  He was always coming up with new inventions from practice roping mechanisms to inventing the Tricky Two Roping Machine and many other ideas in between.  While living in Belleville, he attended the Wesleyan Church.  Dale often shared his love of outside activities with his children, which included fishing in the Minnesota lakes, canoeing, snowmobiling and coon hunting. He was proud of his family’s accomplishments and especially loved cheering for his grandchildren as they pursued their dreams. Preceded in death were his parents and granddaughter Shalyn Morey. His children include, Dr. Karen Baehler of Hutchinson, Kathy (Tom) Lawless of Mansfield, Texas, Konnie (Kirk) Hall of Saluda, NC, Kevin (Ramizah) Frankamp of Tulsa, Okla., Kandi (Ken) Rich of Arkansas City. He married Carolyn Ostrom in 1984 and her children are John (Kelley) Ostrom of Dodge City, Julie Ostrom-Asch of Clyde; 19 grandchildren; a great-grandson; sister, Consie Bernard of Greenville, SC; brothers, Gene of Nicollet, Minn., Marvin (Rosalie) of Wichita, Leon (Ramona) of Pine Mountain Club, Calif., Werner of Apple Valley, Minn., Paul (Judy) of Blue Earth, Minn.  As we gather to celebrate his life, we are grateful for the years and memories that each of us has.  Dale will be missed by his family and friends. Funeral services were held Saturday, October 26, 2013 at the Wesleyan Church in Belleville, Kansas with Pastor Mark McGregor officiating. Burial was in the Scottsville Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the church or to the Republic County Hospital. Tibbetts-Fischer Funeral Home, Belleville, Kansas was in charge of these arrangements.