January 4, 1944 - October 7, 2025
LAWRENCE “LARRY” ROBERT FRANK, M.D., born January 4, 1944, met his Savior shortly before he died & went to be with Him at the age of 81 on October 7, 2025.
He spent the last months of his life at Summerfield Memory Care in Stockton & the family thanks them for all the care given to "Doc".
He is survived by his wife, Karen Janeen (Webb), sons David Michael & Alexander James, brother-in-law Ronald White (Carol), nephews Douglas (Samira) & Robert (Zepure), nieces Jessica (Bryan), Rebecca (Jordan) & Sarah along with their children, his cousins, 3 dogs, & dear friend Steve Schneider & his family. Larry was preceded in death by his parents Ernest Louis & Hilda Albers & his brother Allan.
Born in New York City, he was your typical New Yorker – quick-witted, direct & determined. He grew up the same as any city kid would, except he spent 12 summers on a farm owned by German immigrants. He knew from the time he was a child that he wanted to be a doctor & he always considered himself lucky to be able to fulfill that calling. He graduated from NYU School of Medicine, completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the VA in Martinez & fellowship in Nephrology at the University of California, San Diego. In 1972 he joined the USAF & was stationed as a medical officer in Panama during the Vietnam War where he also discovered a love of scuba diving.
Eventually he found his way to Stockton, which had been advertised as needing a nephrologist “in the Bay Area”. As the Medical Director of the Dialysis Unit at San Joaquin General Hospital since 1979, he became a familiar face in all 4 hospitals in the area. The time & dedication he poured into his job & patients was unmatched & he was also devoted to the Dialysis staff who cared for them. As the County grew, so did the need for Dialysis services & he oversaw the unit’s expansion to the area south of the Hospital. For the past 44 years he also served the medical profession through his work with the San Joaquin Medical Society & was awarded their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. He continued to practice fulltime until his retirement in August 2024.
The Hospital also brought him together with his wife-to-be & her young son. An avid runner, you could often see Larry pushing the running stroller as they trained. He (finally) got on his knee & proposed after they finished a ½-marathon together. As the story goes, he wouldn’t have proposed if she hadn’t finished those 13 miles with him! A longtime member of the Sundance Running Club, he served as newsletter editor & also Race Director for the California 10-Mile for many years. He was particularly proud of finishing the 100th running of the Boston Marathon. Even though his runs eventually turned more into “walk-a-thons”, he still treasured the decades-long friendships he had with his fellow runners.
He also loved animals & probably would have taken in every dog in the city if possible. He would come up with his own silly names & made-up languages to talk to them & strangely enough they seemed to understand. Other passions were sailing, diving, woodworking, & astronomy, but really, he just enjoyed learning. He was a dedicated scientist & enjoyed cooking, which he viewed as just chemistry, but took forever to make a dish because he had to follow the recipe 1-step at a time & to a “tee”!
He had a laugh that can’t be forgotten, a dry sense of humor, & a quick wit. He was a friend & devoted husband & father & will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Visitation: Nov 8, 2025, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Celebration of Life: Nov 9, 2025, beginning at 2 p.m. Reception to immediately follow. All services at Cherokee Memorial, Lodi, CA. If desired, in lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to www.support.kidney.org (National Kidney Foundation) or www.lbda.org (Lewy Body Dementia research).
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Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Frank family.