Harry Franke
The weekly meetings of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee will never be the same. Harry Franke, a prominent former Wisconsin legislator, lawyer and lobbyist, died Saturday in Mequon at the age of 89 from complications from a fall.
For years, Franke was called upon by the Rotary Club to recite a limerick he hastily wrote about that week’s meeting.
Franke served one term in the state Assembly and one term in the state Senate during the 1950s. He was a moderate north shore Republican who stood up against U.S. Sen. Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist tactics and became treasurer of the “Joe Must Go Club” to recall McCarthy in 1954.
Franke was a principal in the Cooke & Franke S.C. law firm in Milwaukee. Donning his trademark bow tie, he was known for his philanthropy and civic involvement in the community.
Read an article written in 2005 about the 100+ members Harry Franke brought into Rotary.
Jeffrey Remsik, president of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and Bottom Line Marketing & Public Relations in Milwaukee, said, “Harry Franke was the first recipient of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Many Rotarians think of Harry as the ultimate Rotarian not just for his service and leadership, but for his warm, funny, outgoing nature. He had a quick smile, a big heart. He was passionate about our community. Milwaukee is a better place because of Harry Franke.”
The Rotary Club also provided the following limerick from member Bill Randall in honor of Franke:
“#1
Our Rotary Club has been blessed
By a man with incredible zest.
We honor our Harry
(and long-loving Mary);
He’s lived by our code: the Four-Way Test.
#2
It’s not what you get but what you give
Not what you say but how you live
Living a life of noble deeds
Giving the world the love it needs
Strong for the good, the light, the true
These are the things worthwhile to you.”
The Rotary Club is posting limericks and other tributes to Franke today at its Facebook page. Franke is survived by his wife, Mary, and three children, Jay, John and Mary Ann. Details of his memorial service are pending.