Francis McGonagle, 88, Providence

Personal tragedy led to crusade for Army veteran

Posted 10/24/19

Francis “Frank” McGonagle, 88, died peacefully on October 13th, surrounded by his loving family at his home in Providence.

Frank was born in Boston, MA, and raised in Sommerville, MA. …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Francis McGonagle, 88, Providence

Personal tragedy led to crusade for Army veteran

Posted

Francis “Frank” McGonagle, 88, died peacefully on October 13th, surrounded by his loving family at his home in Providence.

Frank was born in Boston, MA, and raised in Sommerville, MA. After graduating from Boston College in 1952, he served in the U.S. Army for two years during the Korean conflict.

In 1966 he lost his wife Charlotte in an automobile accident which left him severely burned. As a result of this experience, he learned about an international self-help organization, The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. He served on this organization’s board and became its president in 1993.

His business career spanned a half-century of advertising and public relations management assignments for Hallmark Cards, Hunt Foods, and Honeywell Automotive (Fram, Autolite, and Bendix). In 1991 he founded Brenton Productions, a television production enterprise specializing in automotive oriented cable programing.

He is survived by his wife Arlene of 41 years, plus his five children Charles, Margaret, Peter, Michael, and Timothy, four daughters-in-law and one son-in-law, along with eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 16th at 12 PM at the First Unitarian Church of Providence, 1 Benevolent Street, Providence, RI 02906 (401) 421-7970 www.firstunitarianprov.org. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Frank's memory can be made to The Hamilton House, 276 Angell St, Providence, RI 02906, www.historichamilton.com, or The Phoenix Society Inc. 525 Ottawa Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, www.phoenix-society.org.  complete obituary at monahandrabblesherman.com

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.