A local funeral director is a newly appointed member of the Indiana Funeral Education Foundation board of directors.
Jon Frain of Frain Mortuary in Winamac is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington and Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago. The foundation supports continuing education, scholarship and other financial aid opportunities for funeral directors and other professional in the field. They also educate the general public on the value of the funeral and the role of the funeral director in society and make charitable contributions on behalf of the funeral service.
Sam FrainSamuel J. Frain, co-owner of Frain Mortuary in Pulaski County, has recently qualified to become re-certified as a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner through the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. Frain is also a lifetime member of the academy.
Sam FrainA local funeral director has been appointed to the National Funeral Directors Association Member Resources Advisory Group.
Samuel Frain of Frain Mortuary in Winamac will help other members in the organization evaluate existing member benefits; recommend new programs, products and services; review and provide feedback on new resources; and assist with the recruitment and retention of members from around the world.
The National Funeral Directors Association is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 19,700 individual members who represent more than 10,000 funeral homes in the United States and 39 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.
Ralph William Braun, founder and CEO of The Braun Corporation, passed away Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 in Winamac. He was 72.
Born on Dec. 18, 1940 in Winamac, he was the son of Joseph J. and Olive M. Braun. He was a pioneer in the mobility industry, after struggling with SMA from a young age. Out of a need to improve his own mobility, Braun built his first three-wheel scooter in 1962. Realizing that there were many others like him, he started his own company, Save-A-Step Manufacturing, in 1963. It eventually grew into The Braun Corporation, which was incorporated in 1972. What began as a solution to his own mobility needs grew to a company that would eventually change thousands of lives. In 2006, The Braun Corporation adopted the brand name, BraunAbility for its products. Today his company has grown into a world-wide corporation, with its headquarters still based in Winamac.
Braun Corporation founder Ralph Braun
In 2010, Ralph Braun released his autobiography, Rise Above. He then started The Ralph Braun Foundation as a way to assist the disabled population with purchasing mobility equipment. As a recipient of many awards and honors, Braun’s recognition began in 1979 when he received the Employer of the Year Award from the Commission for the Handicapped and the Indiana State Board of Health. Since that time, he has been featured on television and in many newspaper and magazine articles for his success and drive to improve the lives of others with disabilities. In 2012 he was recognized as a “Champion of Change” by President Barack Obama. Braun was also honored with the Support of the Guard and Reserves Patriot Award for his dedicated support and flexibility offered to employees serving in the military. Braun’s most recent award was a bronze plaque from the Adaptive Driving Alliance for being the leader and pioneer for mobility products. Continue reading →
Samuel J. Frain, a certified funeral service practitioner and funeral director with the Frain Mortuary in Winamac, recently qualified for re-certification of the designation of certified funeral service practitioner.
To receive this award, the practitioner must complete a 180-hour program of continuing education activities and events. The practitioner must accumulate 20 hours per year to re-certify. Credits include academic activities, professional activities, career review, and community and civic activities.
A drowning incident is being investigated by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department.
Officers were called to 4242 W. 400 N. in Winamac about a possible drowning. Andrew Jackson informed officers that his mother, Cynthia Jackson, had gone swimming in a pond located on the property and had drowned. She reportedly had permission to be on the property.
A former President of the Indiana Funeral Director’s Association has passed away at the Pulaski Health Care Center in Winamac. Max Frain, 84, was the president of the association in 1978. His sons, Dan and Sam Frain, followed their dad as president, making them the first family to produce three presidents of the association.
Frain and his wife Jean purchased the Fry and Lange Funeral Home in 1969 and, in 1976, changed the name to Frain Mortuary.
During his lifetime, he was also a 12-year member of the Winamac Schools and Eastern Pulaski School Corporations. He was Pulaski County Coroner for several years and a proud member of the Republican political party.
Tom Collins passed away last week at the age of 100. Leaving behind a wealth of survivors, Collins was born in Yazoo City, Miss., but passed away at Miller’s Merry Manor in Culver. He was a former resident of Chicago, working as a meat packer, but moved to Winamac in 1969. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lillian Williams, who passed away on February 14, 2002.
Collins played professional baseball on a team many people may not know: the Memphis Red Sox, a professional Negro League baseball team based in Memphis, Tenn., from the 1920s until the end of segregated baseball. Collins even played with one very notable player from the team: Satchel Paige, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971—the first player to be inducted from the Negro leagues.
A prominent Pulaski County resident died Saturday. Lloyd Overmyer, 86, of Monterey passed away at the home of his son, Tim.
In his lifetime, Overmyer served on the Fulton County REMC Board and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Pulaski County Farm Bureau Co-op for 25 years.
