Francis Edward Cafferty

Francis E. Cafferty
B. June 18, 1935, Grosse Pointe, Michigan
D. June 19, 2020, Allen Park, Michigan

Beloved husband, father and grandfather Frank Cafferty passed away in his home on Friday, June 19, 2020. The cause of death was complications from multiple myeloma. He died peacefully with his wife of 62 years, Annette, at his side.

Frank was born in 1935 in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, near his parents’ home in eastern Detroit. His father, Edward Cafferty (1899-1953), was born in Wisconsin of Irish-Canadian immigrants. His mother, Grace May (1909-2002) was born in Picton, Ontario, and was of English and Scottish heritage. Frank had one brother, Ted, born in 1940.

Frank grew up in Trenton, Michigan, where the family moved when he was a child. The family had purchased a Standard Oil Company service station, and eventually owned three service stations, before his father’s untimely death in 1953.

Frank graduated from St. Francis Xavier High School in Ecorse, Michigan in 1954. It was there that he began dating Annette Quenneville, who was in his class. After they graduated, Frank went to the University of Detroit to study engineering and Annette went to Mercy School of Nursing in Detroit. Frank didn’t take well to engineering, and switched to a liberal arts major (psychology). While in college, he worked construction jobs during the summers, including work on the Fermi II nuclear power plant in Monroe.

After Annette graduated from nursing school, she and Frank married on August 24, 1957 in Melvindale, Michigan. A couple of children were promptly produced, Patrick (1958) and Michael (1959). Frank graduated from U of D and began working for General Motors in Detroit, initially in the human resources department, then in the safety department and finally in labor relations, where he spent most of his career. The family moved to the house on Parkside Blvd. in Allen Park in 1963. It would be the first and only house they ever purchased. Two more children followed, Daniel (1964) and Kathleen (1967).

In the 1970s, while still working full time at General Motors, Frank began attending law school at the Detroit College of Law (now the Michigan State University, School of Law). He continued to work in labor relations after he graduated law school and passed the bar exam, primarily at the Ternstedt Plant in Detroit. In the 1990s, he started working at the GM Tech Center in Auburn Hills still in labor relations. In 1999, he stayed with Delphi Automotive when it was spun-off from GM. He retired from Delphi in 2000.

Even before he retired, Frank began his second act as an adjunct professor at Baker College in the late 1990s. As anyone who knew him can attest, he was an avid story teller with a sharp sense of humor, so teaching fit right into his wheel-house. He worked very hard in preparing his lessons (and related stand-up routines.) He taught right up until multiple myeloma made it impossible.

Frank was an ardent sports fan and especially followed Detroit’s professional sports teams and Notre Dame football. Frank got swept up with the running craze of the 1970s, and became life long runner, completing several marathons. He was an avid traveller, who visited many countries, and was active in the Michigan Contra-Dance community for decades.

Frank deeply loved his family and was fiercely proud of their every accomplishment. He cherished his children and their spouses: Patrick (and Marie Lozon); Michael (and Lisa Matheson); Daniel (and Chantal Parenteau); and Kathleen (and Eric Suydam). But more than anything, he adored his eight grandchildren, Sean (1990), Aidan (1993), Matthew (1990), Liam (1991), Oliver (2001), Chloe (2003), Amelia (2006), Sabrina (2008). He is survived by his wife, Annette, his brother, Ted, and all of his children and grandchildren.

The family is devastated by the loss of their beloved patriarch, but thankful for his life and the impact he had on all of us. The family expresses our sincere thanks for the condolences we have received from his many friends and relatives.