Francis J. Messer

Francis J. Messer, age 88, a Dracut resident, died Sunday, February 15, 2015 at a local healthcare facility following a period of declining health. He leaves his wife of 52 years, Phyllis (Basnett) Messer.
He was born in Boston on July 5, 1926.
Frank was a lifetime member of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Lowell. He lived most of his life in Dracut. He was raised and nurtured by the late John and Bertha (Hamm) Gemmell.
He was educated in the Dracut schools where he was a three sports athlete. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Frank was retired from Nynex New England Telephone in 1989 after 34 years of employment.
Mr. Messer held membership in the Dracut American Legion Post 315 and the Dracut Historical Society. He was also a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America, the IBEW Union and their retiree groups and held membership in the Association of Bell-Tel, Inc.
Frank enjoyed reading about the history of baseball and football, the players and their "plays" and didn't mind sharing this information with those interested.
He participated in various sports most of his life and was still playing hockey in his 60th year.
Also, for many years, he enjoyed spending the deer season hunting in northern New Hampshire with his friends.
Besides his wife he leaves his step daughter Linda C. Giffin of Framingham; his foster family with whom he had a very close, lifelong relationship, Phyllis (Hamm) Dexter of Pelham, NH, Helen (Hamm) LaRue of Marlborough, MA, James and Robert Hamm of California, Kenneth Hamm of Nevada and many nieces and nephews.
He also leaves a very special friend and confidant, Brian Richter and his family.