A. Paul Franklin

A. Paul Franklin, 88, formerly of Benton, died early Tuesday morning, December 28th, 2021 at the Gardens at Millville where he had been a resident since July.  

Born February 25, 1933 in Huntington Township, he was a son of the late Paul T. Franklin, who died March 23, 1982 and Elva M. (Wilkinson) Franklin, who died December 1, 2000.  He and his wife, Joan M. (Croop) Franklin, celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary this past June 11th.

Mr. Franklin attended schools in Huntington Mills and then graduated from Bloomsburg High School in 1951.  He furthered his education at Bloomsburg State College where he graduated in 1959 and then earned his Master's degree from Marywood University.  He was a well known area baseball player in his younger years and had played for several local teams.  

He faithfully served his country in the U. S. Coast Guard for four years.  He served as a police officer for the Town of Bloomsburg in the late 1950's while he was attending college.  He later was a school teacher at the Benton Area High School for 13 years where he served as the wrestling coach in the 1960's and was also an assistant baseball coach.  He was last employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Department of Environmental Resources as a regional director out of the Williamsport office, retiring in 1994.

Mr. Franklin was a long-time and active member of Benton Christian Church where he had served as an Elder, a Deacon and was president of the Church Board and was also actively involved in the State Association for the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.  He was also a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 460, F. & A. M., Orangeville and the Caldwell Consistory, of Bloomsburg. He was an active member of Patterson Grove Campground where he served in various capacities for more than 20 years. 

His hobbies included woodworking and hunting.

Surviving, in addition to his wife, Joan, are his children:  Carl Franklin and his wife, Linda, of Mechanicsburg; Timothy Franklin, of Bloomsburg; Larry Cornell and his wife, Sara, of Bear Creek; Thomas Cornell, of Bradenton, Florida; Lynne Watson, of Benton; also surviving are his nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren as well as nieces and nephews.

Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Barbara (Queisser) Franklin on October 30, 1966 and by a brother, A. Dale Franklin on March 5, 2011.

Services will be held Sunday, January 2nd, 2022 at 2 PM at the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc., 4394 Red Rock Road, Benton (State Route 487). (The Family requests that masks be worn). Friends will be received from 1 P. M. until the time of the Service at 2 P.M. at McMichael's. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Benton Christian Church, P. O. Box 264, Benton, PA 17814 or to the Patterson Grove Campground, 1128 Bethel Hill Road, Shickshinny, PA 18655.  

The McMichael Funeral Home, Inc., of Benton, is honored to serve the Franklin Family.  For online condolences or for additional information, please visit our website:  www.mcmichaelfuneralhome.com

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