Professor, planner recalled for serving Granite Falls

Published 12:01 am Sunday, September 25, 2011

Frank Mason, a professor at California State University, Northridge, was so interested in the success of his students, he handed out his home phone number so they could call with questions.

“He said to call anytime, day or night,” said Bryan Bechler. “At one point, I needed some assistance an

d was invited to his and Mary’s home in Sherman Oaks.”

In an unusual coincidence, Bechler moved to Granite Falls a decade ago, some 10 years after his professor.

“The odds of a student from Los Angeles ending up a mile from one of his professors, I’m sure are quite high,” Bechler said.

“I always enjoyed talking with Frank on a number of subjects. He did a lot for the community of Granite Falls over the years and was honored by having the park across the street from his property named in his honor.”

Frank Duff Mason, 89, died July 4 due to complications from pneumonia and heart failure. He was born July 24, 1921, in Prosser, to Frank Boyd Mason and Helen Euphemia Huntington.

He graduated as valedictorian from Kennewick High School at age 16. He earned a degree in physics and mathematics at Washington State University, then studied pre-radar at Bowdoin College in Maine and radar at MIT in Boston.

In 1944, he served as a Navy physicist on the Manhattan Project helping develop the first atomic bomb. Mason served on the USS Topeka CL-67. In July 1946, he participated in Operation Crossroads as staff officer during the nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

He watched as two atomic bombs were detonated, one above ground and one underwater.

His son, Duff Mason, said during nuclear testing, his father set up measuring equipment on old ships that were anchored in concentric circles during the blast. His father told him about live goats that were tied on the ships to simulate human beings.

His father said he wasn’t afraid during the tests.

In 1945, Frank married Gladys Ola McGuire. They had a son, Frank Albert Mason.

Frank Mason worked as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and in 1950 participated in the Korean War as a civilian operations analyst for the Air Force. In Korea, he was picked to be on the team that analyzed a captured Russian MiG-21 fighter.

After Korea, Mason worked in the field of rocketry and missile testing in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and in China Lake, Calif. Mason earned his master’s in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and then a PhD in operations analysis at North Carolina State University.

He married his second wife, Mary Dunn Whisnant, in 1960 and they had three children.

In California, Mason worked for Hughes Aircraft Co., served in the Naval Reserves and taught at Pepperdine University as well as teaching in the Philippines and Australia. He retired from the Naval Reserves as a full commander.

He moved to Granite Falls and served on the town planning commission. He developed Frank Mason Park on Lake Gardener in Granite Falls.

Mason was an avid camper, fisherman and hunter, an expert sailor and oil painter. He is survived by his wife, Mary; sons, Frank, Duff and Robert; his daughter, Mary Leskowitz; granddaughter, Tracy; grandsons, Nathaniel and Noel; great-grandsons Tyler, Sean and Riley, brother, John; and his sister, Janet Sloan.

His father didn’t talk about his accomplishments, said Duff Mason.

“I had to grill him,” Duff Mason said. “I dug stories out of him.”

When he retired, Frank Mason yearned to settle in a small town in Washington. Duff Mason said his father looked at property in Sultan, learned about potential flooding, and bought on high ground in Granite Falls.

His father loved to get outdoors and enjoy life.

“He ate steak, meatloaf and red snapper,” his son said. “He wore slacks and shirts.”

A voracious reader, Frank Mason read technical books, books on military history, politics and business, as well as works by Mark Twain and Jack London.

“He read compulsively,” Duff Mason said. “Most TV bored him. He was a man of the world.”

His father was very left brained, his son said. He believed in God and had many friends at Trinity Episcopal Church in Everett.

Mary Leskowitz said her father was resistant to talking about his worldly, scholarly accomplishments. She caught bits and pieces through anecdotes from the patient, humble man. In California, she attended a college barbecue where several students said her father was a fabulous teacher.

She said her father, who was entertaining at the dinner table, doodled clever stick figures on their school lunch sacks.

And he told great jokes, Leskowitz said.

Do you know why it’s called Mount Rainier? Because it’s in between Mount Rainy and Mount Rainiest.

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451; oharran@heraldnet.com.